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tails 

du 
Ddifier 

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illustrent  la  mdthode. 


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6 

HISTOEY  AND  GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 


OF 


NEW  FRANCE 


REV.  P.  F.  X.  DE  CHARLEVOIX,  S.  J. 


TRAKBLATEO  FROU  THB  ORiaiMAIi  EDITION 
AND  EDITED,  WITH  NOTES,  BY 

DR.  JOHN  GILMARY  SHEA 


WITH  A  NEW  IfEUOm  AND  BIBLIOnitAPBT  OP  THE  TRANSLATOB 

BY 

NOAH  FARNHAM  MORRISON 


IN  SIX  VOLUMES 
Vol.  I 


NEW  YORK 

FRANCIS  P.   HARPER 

1900 


JfAS%. 


V- 


Entersd  according  to  Act  of  CongreM,  in  the  year  tBOk 

Bt  JOHN  GILMART  SHEA, 

Id  tbe  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Conrt  of  the  United  State*  for  the  Bonthem 

Diitrlct  of  New  York. 


CopmiaBT,  1900, 

BT 

FRANCIS  P.  nABFBB. 


I 


4  ; 


SHEA'S    CHARLEVOIX. 


,MI 


■^(j 


m 


\\ 


Edition  limited 
to  750  Copies. 


no 


fi' 


TO 


HIS  aSRENE   HIQHNESa, 


THE  DUKE  OF  PENTHISVRX. 


JdY  LORD: 

Your  Serene  Highneea  haa  an  hereditary  right 
to  the  homage  of  Neio  Pranoe,  a  hitiory  of  lohioh  I  jireiume  to 
dedioate  to  you.  li  is  due,  my  Lord,  to  the  Prinoe  who  gavo 
you  hirth,  for  the  goodneea  and  marha  of  eaieem  vxiih  whioh  he 
honored  thia  oolony  during  the  lohole  period  of  hia  voluntary 
aaaumpiion  of  that  hranoh  of  the  miniairy  on  whioh  the  oolony 
dejpenda,  and  whioh  he  diaoharged  to  the  oloee  of  hia  life.  He 
hnew,  end  admitted,  that  iy  the  valor,  fidelity,  apirii,  and  polite- 
neaa  cf  ita  inhabiianta,  it  haa  ahvaya  well  maintained  ita  Urat- 
bom  righte ;  and  ^o  whom,  my  Lord,  ahall  the  oolony,  loaded 
with  hia  favora,  now  teetify  iia  gratitude  through  ita  hiatorian'a 
pen,  and  proieat  ita  perfect  devoiedneaa,  if  not  to  the  heir  of  the 
viriuea,  even  more  than  of  the  titlee  of  iia  illuatrioue  Proieotor , 
to  him,,  who  alone  haa  teen  able  to  oonaole  ua  for  our  loaa  hy 
reviving  that  prinoe  entirely  in  hia  07on  peraon  ? 

Thia  perfect  reaemblanoe  to  an  aooompliahed  father  oan 
aurpriae  thoae  only,  my  Lord,  uiho  could  not  wiineaa  the  oare  of 
that  prinoe  to  inapire  you  early  in  life  with  all  hia  aeniim,enta, 
and  the  devotion  of  a  princeea,  vdho  would  intruet  your  eduoa- 
Uon  to  no  other  handa,  ao  aa  to  develop  and  ouliivate  the  great 
qualiiiea  that  hoih  have  transmitted  to  you  with  their  Hood. 
Henoe,  in  faot,  that  iaaia  of  piety  and  religion,  whioh  you  have 


^,a-  a^T^J 


fi 


^ii 


l£jf 


»o  d»»ply  ftU  io  h»  iht  Urti  duty  and  main  auppori  of  a  Ohrit- 
iian  prinoe;  that  afflMliiy,  that  inolination  io  do  good  io  all,  to 
laviih  your  trtarurtt  with  a  profution  thai  hnowt  no  limii  but 
ih»  laanit  of  the  naady  j  that  tpirit  of  equity,  that  love  of  order, 
viriuet  ofwhioh  the  Oouni  de  Touloute  wae  far  more  Jealou*  than 
of  hit  ranh  and  all  hia  greatneee ;  that  attaohment  io  the  royal 
■pereon,  thai  nMe  and  diiintereited  zeal  in  hie  eervioe  ;  ihai  oool 
and  well-ooneidered  valor  in  the  midet  of  the  tattle,  of  whioh  you 
have  Juat  given  euah  ahining  proof ;  in  a  word,  all  ihai  wae  ad- 
mired in  the  Prinae  whom  we  have  eo  regretted,  all  thai  en- 
deared him  io  true  ^enohmen,  all  that  they  find  revived  in  you. 
My  good  fortune,  my  Lord,  in  eeeing  eo  nMe  a  oharaoter  in- 
oreaie  and  develop  in  you  /Vom  your  earlieei  ohildhood,  and  ihe 
oardial  welcome  with  whioh  you  have  ever  favored  my  Idbora, 
enoourage  me  to-day  to  offer  you,  what  ihe  Count  de  Toulouee 
had  hindly  aaoepied  for  himself,  thie  fi^ii  of  my  vigile,  and  of 
ihe  voyage  whioh  I  m,ade  under  hia  auapioea.  Oould  I,  indeed, 
And  a  more  favorable  qpportuniiy  io  expreee  ihe  einoere  and  re- 
apeoiM  devotion,  with  whioh  I  am. 
My  Lord, 

Your  Serene  Highneaa'a 

Moat  humble  and  dbed'i  ae7rMj,nt, 

P.  FB.  X.  de  OHARLEVOIX, 
of  ihe  Society  of  Jeiue. 

Paria,  Ooiober  16,  1749. 


»t>f 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 


Thi  history  of  New  France,  by  Father  Obarlevoiz,  is  too  well 
known  and  too  highly  esteemed  both  for  style  and  matter  to 
need  any  explanation  of  its  scope  or  object  here.    The  praise  of 
Oibbon  will  alone  assure  the  English  reader  that  as  an  his 
torical  work  it  is  of  no  inconsiderable  mt   t. 

It  is,  however,  strange  that  while  nearly  all  the  other  works 
of  the  French  historian '  can  be  found  in  our  language,  no 
attempt  has  hitherto  been  made  to  present  to  English  readers 
the  history  of  a  colony  which  passed  under  English  rule  ;  and 
that  ev^  among  American  scholars  no  one  has  yet  undertaken 
a  version  of  this  well-written  history  of  New  France.  Yet  that 
French  colonial  empire  embraced  no  small  portion  of  our  own 
republic,  and  has  left  ineffaceable  marks  of  the  Gallic  rule  in 
the  names  imposed  on  natural  features,  and  even  on  settlements 
that  have  risen  to  the  dimension  of  cities. 

In  undertaking  to  supply  the  want,  I  purposed  to  myself  to 
make  it  a  work  of  enduring  and  positive  value.  To  a  transla- 
tion made  with  care  and  study  I  designed  to  add  not  mere 
occasional  notes,  but  exact  references  to  authorities  for  every 
statement  in  the  text,  without  further  remark  where  the  authori- 
ties sustained  the  statement,  but  explaining  and  collating  the 
evidence  on  points  of  disagreement.  The  addition  of  some 
biographical  information,  ethnological  and  other  notes,  as  well 
as  the  supplying  of  obvious  omissions,  seemed  necessary. 


i 


I   !' 


, 


'     li 


TRAMSLATOR'B  PREFACE. 


Thii  hM  proved  a  task  much  greater  than,  fVom  my  familiarity 
with  the  subject,  I  had  anticipated,  but  I  trust  that  it  ia  not 
labor  spent  in  vain. 

Of  the  preliminary  matter  little  need  be  said.  In  this  I  re- 
frained from  notes.  The  chronological  tables  would  have  led 
to  too  diffuse  remark.  The  List  of  Authors  stands  as  Charle 
Toix's  expression  of  opinion.  In  this  I  corrected  the  titles  of 
the  works  in  most  cases  from  the  works  themselves,  so  as  to 
make  it  useful  for  reference. 

In  translating  a  work  of  such  frequent  reference,  I  have, 
while  making  it  as  idiomatic  as  possible,  adhered  to  the  author's 
style  and  manner.  For  the  same  reason,  I  have  retained  bis 
orthography  of  proper  names,  giving,  however,  where  a  name 
is  incorrect,  the  proper  form  in  my  notes. 

It  is  thus,  for  the  use  of  the  scholar,  Charlevoix  absolutely. 

All  the  maps  of  the  original  edition  are  here  reproduced,  and 
portraits  added  to  enhance  the  interest  if  not  the  value  of  the 
work. 

Resuming  here  the  study  of  many  years,  I  could  scarcely 
enumerate  all  the  friends  whose  Bnggestions  and  aid  have 
enabled  me  to  present  the  information  here  gathered.  Yet  I 
may  mention  the  late  Abb6  Ferland,  the  Abb68  Laverdiere  and 
Taschereau,  in  Canada;  the  late  Henry  de  Courcy  and  Rev. 
Felix  Martin,  in  France  ;  Doctor  E.  B.  O'Callaghan,  Hon.  Henry 
C.  Murphy,  and  Francis  Parkman,  in  this  country. 

JOHN  GILMARY  SHEA. 
New  Tobk,  May  1,  I860. 


w 


\\ 


sa 


w 


\\ 


JOHN  GILMART  SHEA,  LL.  D. 
A  MEMOIR,  WITU  BIBLIOORAPHY, 

•T 

Noah   Fabnham   Morbison. 

The  translator  and  compiler  of  these  volumee,  John  Oil- 
mary  Shea,  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  July  22, 
1824.  Was  educated  at  the  Grammar  School  of  Columbia 
College,  and  admitted  to  the  bar.  He,  however,  devoted 
most  of  his  time  to  literature.  Being  a  persistent  collector 
and  student  he  soon  gathered  together  a  large  amount  of 
valuable  unpublished  material  upon  which  to  found  his 
first  work.  This  was  given  to  the  public  in  an  octavo 
volume  of  three  hundred  and  forty-eight  pages,  under  the 
title  of  "  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  with  the  Original  Narratives  of  Marquette,  Al- 
louez,  Membr^,  Hennepin,  and  Anastase  Douay."  The 
volume  contained  a  facsimile  of  the  newly  discovered  map 
of  Marquette,  and  was  published  by  Redfield  of  New  York 
in  1863.  The  work  was  well  received  both  in  this  country 
and  in  England.  The  value  of  the  notes,  biographical 
sketches,  and  bibliographical  accounts  of  works  upon 
aboriginal  history  can  scarcely  be  overestimated.  He  was 
at  once  recognized  as  one  of  the  foremost  historical 
scholars  of  the  country,  and  made  an  honorary  member  of 
nearly  every  historical  society  in  this  country  and  Europe. 
Having  a  natural  taste  for  linguistics,  and  finding  as  he 
pursued  his  studies  that  some  knowledge  of  the  Indian  lan- 
guages was  requisite,  he  began  investigating  their  struc- 
ture, relationships,  grammar,  and  vocabulary.  His  re- 
searches along  this  line  brought  together  a  large  number 
of  manuscripts,  chiefly  by  early  missionaries.     Regretting 

V 


1 1 


Tl  A  MEMOIR,  WITH  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

the  general  indiffereuce  among  American  scholars  for 
such  studies,  he  published,  in  1860,  the  first  series  of  his 
"  Indian  Linguistics,"  in  fifteen  octavo  and  quarto  vol- 
umes. They  consisted  largely  of  grammars  and  dic- 
tionaries, and  were  edited  under  the  title  of  The  Library 
of  American  Linguistics.  Those  published  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

1.  Shea,  J.  G.     A  French-Onondaga  Dictionary,  from  a 

manuscript  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Pp.  103. 
New  York,  1860. 

2.  Mengarini,  Gregory.     A  Selish  or  Flathead  Gram- 

mar.    Pp.  viii-fl22.     New  York,  1861. 

3.  Smith,  Buckingham.     A  Grammatical  Sketch  of  the 

Heve  Language,  translated  from  an  unpublished 
Spanish  manuscript.     Pp.  26.     New  York,  1861. 

4.  Arroyo  de  la  Cuesta,  Felipe.     Grammar  of  the  Mut- 

sun  Language,  spoken  at  the  mission  of  San  Juan 
Bautista,  Alta  California.  Pp.  viii+48.  New 
York,  18C1. 
6.  Smith,  Buckingham.  Grammar  of  the  Pima  or  Ne- 
vome,  a  language  of  Sonora,  from  a  manuscript  of 
the  eighteenth  century.     Pp.  viii+97. 

Doctrina  Christiana  y  Confesionario  en  Len- 
gua  Nevome,  Sea  La  Pima,  propia  de  Sonora. 
Pp.  32.     New  York,  1862. 

6.  Pandosy.     Grammar  and  Dictionary  of  the  Yakama 

Language.     Pp.  viii+97.     New  York,  1862. 

7.  Sitjar,  Bonaventure.     Vocabulary  of  the  Language  of 

San  Antonio  Mission,  California.  Pp.  xix+SS. 
New  York,  1861. 

8.  Arroyo  de  la  Cuesta,  F.  Felipe.     A  Vocabulary  or 

Phrase  Book  of  the  Mutsun  Language  of  Alta 
California.     Pp.  viii+9G.     New  York,  1862. 

9.  Maillard,  Abbe.     Grammar  of  the   Mikmaque  Lan- 

guage of  Nova  Scotia,  edited  from  manuscripts  by 
Joseph  M.  Bellinger.  Pp.  101.  New  York, 
1864. 


V  .  V 


*;■ 


*l 


A  MEMOIR,  WITH  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


VU 


10.  Bruyas,    James.     Radical   "Words    of    the    Mohawk 

Language,  with  their  derivatives.     Pp.  123.     New 
York,  1862. 

11.  Gibbs,  George.     Alphabetical  Vocabularies  of  the 

Clallam  and  Lummi.     Pp.  vii-H40.     New  York, 
1863. 

12.  Gibbs,  George.    A  Dictionary  of  the  Chinook  Jar- 

gon, or,  Trade  Language  of  Oregon.    Pp.  xivJ-43. 
New  York,  1863. 

13.  Gibbs,    George.     Alphabetical    Vocabulary    of    the 

Chinook   Language.     Pp.    viii-f-23.     New   York, 

1863. 
Series   11.     No.    1.  Matthews,   "Washington.     Grammar 

and  Dictionary  of  the  Language  of  the  Hidatsa 

(Minnetarees,  Grosventres  of  the  Missouri),  with 

an  introductory  sketch  of  the  tribe.     Pp.  xxv+' 

148.     New  York,  1873. 

No.  2.  Matthews,  "Washington,  Hidatsa  (Min- 

netaree)  English  Dictionary.     Pp.  149-168.     New 

York,  1874. 
In  1857  he  brought  out  the  first  of  his  Cramoisy  Series 
of  Jesuit  Relations  in  twenty-six  volumes,  all  from  orig- 
inal manuscripts  that  had  never  before  been  printed.  The 
edition  was  a  limited  one,  not  over  one  hundred  copies 
being  printed  of  any  of  them,  and  complete  sets  are  among 
the  rarities  in  the  libraries  of  collectors.  The  complete 
series  embraces  the  following: 

1.  Gravier,  Jacques  (R.  Pere).     Relation  de  la  Mission 

des  Illinois.     Pp.  65.     1857. 

2.  Bigot  (J.).     Relation  de  la  Mission  Abnaquise,  1684. 

Pp.  61.     1857. 

3.  Bigot  (J.).     Relation  de  la  Mission  Abnaquise,  1685. 

Pp.  21.     1858. 

4.  Bigot  (J.).     Relation  de  la  Mission  Abnaquise,  1701. 

Pp.  34.     1858. 

5.  Cavelier  (R.).    Voyage  de  M.  La  Salle.    Pp.  54.    1858. 


.1 


m 


n 


t  i 


viii 


A  MEMOIR,  WITH  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


6  and  7.  Chaumont  (J.  M.).    Autobiography.    Pp.  108, 

66.     1868. 
8.  Tranchepain  (A.).     Voyage  des  Ursulines  k  la  Nou- 

velle  Orleans.     Pp.  62.     1859. 
0.  Regietres  des  Baptesmes  et  Sepultures  au  Fort  Du- 

quesne,  1753,  '54,  '55,  '56.     Pp.  51.     1859. 

10.  Journal  de  la  Guerre  contres  les  Chicachas,  173940. 

Pp.  92.     1859. 

11.  Gravier  (J.)     Voyage  k  I'embouchure  du  Mississippi. 

1700.     Pp.  68.     1859. 

12.  Dablon  (C).    Relation  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  1673- 

79.     Pp.290.     1861. 

13.  Dablon  (C).    Relation  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  1672- 

73.     Pp.  219.     1861. 

14.  Relations  diverses   sur  la  bataille  du  Malenguele. 

Port.     Pp.  75.     1860. 

15.  Relation  des  Missions  du  Seminaire  de  Quebec,  1700. 

Pp.  66.     1861. 

16.  Jogues  (I.).     Novum  Belgiuja.     Pp.  44.     1862. 

17.  Sagean    (M.),   Extrait   des   Voyages   de.      Pp.    32. 

1863. 

18.  Milet  (P.).     Relation  d'une  captivite  parmi  les  On- 

neiouts,  1690-01.     Pp.  56.     1864. 

19.  Nouvelle  France  et  Nouvelle  Angleterre,  Negotia- 

tions, 1648.     Pp.  63.     1866. 

20.  Relation  des  Affaires  du  Canada  en  1696.     Pp.  73. 

1865. 

21.  Bigot  (J.).     Relation  de  la  Mission  Abnaquise,  1702. 

Pp.  26.     1865. 

22.  Gravier  (J.).     Lettre  sur  les  Affaires  de  la  Louisiane. 

Pp.  18.     1865. 

23.  Lettre  du  P.  Bigot,  a  Annexy.     Pp.  9.     1858. 

24.  Dreuillettes   (G.).     Epistola  ad  Joannem  Wintrop. 

Pp.  13.     1864. 

25.  Gendron.     Quelques  Particularitez  sur  le  Pays  des 

Hurons.     Pp.  26.     18G0. 

26.  Chauchetiere.     La  Vie  de  la  B.  Catherine  Teyah- 


:   I 


A  MEMOIR,  WITH  BIBLIOQEAPHY. 


IX 


I  f 


houita,  dicte  a  present  la  Sainte  Sauvagesae.  Par 
le  pere  Claude  Chauchetiere  de  la  Compagnie  de 
Jesus.     Pp.  179.     1887. 

His  next  effort  was  toward  the  improvement  of  the  text 
of  the  Catholic  Bihles,  scarcely  two  of  which  read  alike. 
After  coUfcCting  all  the  leading  translations  and  every 
edition  printed  in  this  country,  with  the  concurrence  of 
Archbishop  Kenrick  he  made  out  a  list  of  errata,  and  in- 
duced many  publishers  to  correct  the  plates  they  possessed. 
Finally,  with  the  sanction  of  Cardinal  McCloskey,  he  re- 
printed the  original  edition  uf  Challouer's  Bible  of  1740, 
comparing  the  text  three  times  with  the  Vulgate.  During 
this  time  (1859)  he  published  a  "  Bibliography  of  Cath- 
olic Bibles  Printed  in  America."  .. 

In  1855  was  written  his  "  History  of  the  Catholic  Mis- 
sions among  the  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States," 
which  ran  through  many  editions  and  was  reprinted  in 
German.  "  Early  Voyages  up  and  down  the  Mississippi  " 
was  brought  out  in  1862.  The  editorial  chair  of  the 
United  States  Catholic  Magazine  was  filled  by  Dr.  Shea 
from  the  commencement  of  the  magazine  to  the  year  1887, 
and  to  his  vigorous  efforts  the  success  of  the  magazine  is 
largely  due.  He  was  the  author  of  some  important  chap- 
ters in  Winsor's  "  Narrative  and  Critical  History,"  also 
many  historical  articles  in  the  Historical  Magazine,  of 
which  he  was  editor  for  eight  years,  beginning  in  1858, 
at  the  same  time  writing  largely  for  historical  societies 
and  other  magazines  throughout  the  country,  among 
them  being  the  Metropolitan  Catholic  World  and  Ameri- 
can Catholic  Quarterly.  His  last  work  was  the  "  History 
of  the  Catholic  Church  within  the  Limits  of  the  United 
States,"  in  four  large  octavo  volumes.  He  died  at  his 
home  in  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  February  22,  1892.  During 
his  life  Dr.  Shea  was  a  member  of  a  large  number  of 
Historical  Societies,  among  them  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society  (1845),  Pennsylvania  Historical  Societj? 
(1860),  New  Jersey  Historical  Society  (1865),  American 


M 


X  A  MEMOIR,  WITH  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Ethnological  Society  (1865),  Maryland  Historical  Society 
(1865),  Massacbnsetts  Historical  Society  (1855),  New 
England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Society  (1859),  His- 
torical Society  of  Iowa  (1860),Soci6t6  Historique  de  Mont- 
real (1860),  Long  Island  Historical  Society  (1866), 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Society  (1866),  Buffalo  His- 
torical Society  (1876),  Missouri  Historical  Society 
(1875),  Historical  Society  of  Michigan  (1857),  "Wis- 
consin Historical  Society  (1854),  and  the  Royal  Academy 
of  Madrid  (1883),  being  the  only  American  who  has  re- 
ceived this  honor.  He  also  belonged  to  the  Bradford  Club 
of  New  York  and  the  Prince  Society  of  Boston.  As,  un- 
fortunately, no  list  of  Dr.  Shea's  works  has  been  pre- 
served, it  is  rather  difficult  to  form  a  complete  bibliography 
of  the  same.  In  addition  to  those  mentioned  above  and 
such  as  appeared  at  various  times  in  the  magazines,  the 
following  is  believed  to  be  complete. 


BIBUOOSAPHT. 

1853.  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley, with  the  Original  Narratives  of  Marquette, 
AUouez,  Membre,  Hennepin,  and  Anastase 
Douay,  with  a  facsimile  of  the  newly  discovered 
map  of  Marquette,  and  facsimile  of  letter  of 
Allouez.     8vo,  pp.  348.     New  York  (Redfield). 

1855.  History  of  the  Catholic  Missions  among  the  Indian 
Tribes  of  the  United  States.  5  Ports.  12mo, 
pp.  508.     New  York. 

1857.  Another  edition, 

1858.  Another  edition.     (This  was  in  German.) 
1870.  Another  edition,     'it 

Another  edition. 

Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States:  A  Sketch  of 
Its  Ecclesiastical  History,  by  Henry  De  Courcy, 
translated  and  enlarged  by  Dr.  Shea.     12mo,  pp. 


1882, 
1866 


i\ 


i 


A  MEMOIR,  WITH  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


1856. 


1856. 


185Y. 
1868. 


w 


1859. 
1860. 
1860. 


1861. 


1862. 


1862. 


694.  With  list  of  subscribers.  New  York 
(£.  Dunigan  &  Bro.). 

Perils  of  the  Ocean  and  Wilderness;  or,  Narratives 
of  Shipwrecks  and  Indian  Captivity.  12mo,  pp. 
206.     Boston. 

Narrative  of  a  Captivity  among  the  Mohawk  In- 
dians and  a  Description  of  New  Netherland  in 
1642-43,  by  Father  Isaac  Jogues,  S.  J.  With 
Memoir  of  the  Holy  Missionary.  8vo,  pp.  69. 
New  York  (N.  Y.  Historical  Society  Press). 

Cramoisy  Series  of  Jesuit  Relations  (for  titles  see 
text). 

life  of  Saint  Angela  Merici  of  Brescia,  Foundress 
of  the  Order  of  Saint  Ursula,  by  the  Abbe 
Parenty.  With  an  account  of  the  Order  in 
Ireland,  Canada,  and  the  United  States.  16mo, 
pp.  251.     Philadelphia. 

Bibliographical  Account  of  American  Catholic 
Bibles.     12mo,  pp.  45,  pamphlet.    New  York. 

Library  of  American  Linguistics  (for  titles  see 
text). 

Diary  of  George  Washington,  from  1789  to  1791. 
Together  with  his  Journal  of  a  Tour  to  Ohio  in 
1753.  Edited  by  B.  J.  Lossing  (with  notes  by 
J.  G.  Shea).  12mo,  pp.  248.  New  York  (C.  B. 
Richardson  &  Co.). 

Fallen  Brave:  A  Biographical  Memorial  of  the 

American  Officers  Who  Have  Given  Their  Lives 

for  the  Preservation  of  the  Union.     4to,  pp.  224. 

Ports.    New  York  (C.  B.  Richardson  &  Co.). 

One  volume  was  all  that  was  published. 

Novum  Belgium,  An  Account  of  New  Netherland 
in  1643-44,  by  Rev.  Father  Isaac  Jogues  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus.  With  facsimile  of  his  Original 
Manuscript,  Port.,  and  Map.  8vo  and  4to,  pp. 
69.     New  York  (privately). 

Early  Voyages  up  and  down  the  Mississippi,  by 


1i 


I  wi 


xii 


A  MEMOIR,  WITH  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


1865. 


1865. 


Cavelier,  St.  Cosmo,  Lo  Suer,  Oravior,  and  Gui- 
gnas.    4to,  pp.   101.     Albany  (Joel  Munsell). 
Edition  limited  to  one  iiundred  copies. 

1862.  A  Description  of  the  Province  and  City  of  New 
York,  with  Plans  of  City  and  Its  Forts  in  1685, 
by  J.  Miller.  Plan.  8vo,  pp.  127.  New  York 
(Oowau's  reprints). 

1864.  Operations  of  the  French  Fleet  under  Count  de 
Grasse,  1781-82,  as  described  in  two  contempo- 
raneous Journals.  Large  8vo,  pp.  216.  New 
York  (Bradford  Club). 

1864.  AflFairs  at  Fort  Chartres,  1768-81.     4to,  pp.   12. 
Albany  (Joel  Munsell). 
Relation  of  Maryland,  1634.     Small  4to,  pp.  23. 
Albany  (Joel  Munsell). 

Edition  limited  to  180  copies. 

Lincoln  Memorial.     8vo,  pp.  288.     New  York. 
1866-72.  History  and  General  Description  of  New  France, 

by  the  Rev.  P.  F.  X.  de  Charlevoix,  S.  J.     6  vols. 

4to  and  Svo,  maps  and  plates.     New  York. 
1866.  Coldeu's  History  of  the  Five  Indian  Nations,  from 

edition  of  1727  (edited).     Svo,  pp.  200.     New 

York. 
1869.  Alsop'a  Character  of  the  Province  of  Maryland. 

4to    and   Svo,   pp.    125.     New    York    (Gowan'a 

Reprints). 
1880.  Another  edition.     (Printed  at  Baltimore.) 
1872.  Child's   History  of   the   United   States.     3   vols. 

Royal  Svo,  512,  447,  445.     Plates.     New  York. 
1886.  Another  edition. 

1877.  Life  of  Pope  Pius  IX.  and  the  Great  Events  in  the    i 

History  of  the  Church  during  His  Pontificate. 
12mo,  pp.  440.  His.  New  York  (Thomas  Kelly). 

1878.  Catholic  Churches  in  New  York  City.     4to,  pp.  \  \ 

748.     Ports,  and  views.     (Edited.)     New  York. 

1878.  Address  Delivered  before  the  Missouri  Historical 

Society  (at  St    Louis)  July  19,  1878,  the  anni- 


A  MEMOIR,  WITH  BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


xiU 


w 


versary  of  the  discovery  of  the  Miasisaippi  by 
Marquette  and  Joliet.  8vo,  pp.  20,  pamphlet. 
New  York. 

1879.  Bursting  of  Pierre  Magry's  La  Salle  Bubble.     Bvo, 

pp.  24.     New  York. 

1880.  Bibliography  of  Hennepin's  Works.     8vo,  pp.  13. 

Pamphlet,  New  York. 

1880.  Hennepin's   (L.)  Description  of  Louisiana.     8vo, 

pp.  423.     Map.     New  York. 

1881.  Le  Clercq  (C).     First  Establishment  of  the  Faith 

in  New  France.   2  vols.,  Svo,  pp.  416,  359.    Maps 

and  plates.     New  York. 

Much  gpace  ia  devoted  to  La  Salle's  exploration  of  the 
Mississippi. 

1882.  Expedition  of  Don  Diego  Dionisis  de  Pealosa.    Svo, 

pp.  101,  pamphlet.     New  York. 

1883.  "Where  ^re  the  Remains  of  Columbus?     4to,  pp. 

19.     New  York. 
1883.  Spanish  edition  of  above. 

1885.  Life  of  Father  Isaac  Jogues,  Missionary  Priest  of 

the  Society  of  Jesus,  Slain  by  the  Mohawk  Iro- 
quois in  the  Present  State  of  New  York,  Oct.  18, 
1646.  By  the  Rev.  Felix  Martin,  S.  J.,  with 
Father  Jogues'  account  of  the  Captivity  and 
Death  of  his  companion  Rene  Coupil,  Sept.  29, 
1642.  Translated  from  the  French  by  Gen. 
John  S.  Clark.  (Edited.)  12mo,  pp.  263.  Ports. 
New  York. 

1886.  Another  edition. 

1887.  The  First  Epic  of  Our  Country,  by  Poet  Conquis- 

tador of  New  Mexico,  Captain  Caspar  de  Villagro. 
Pp.  16.     New  York. 

1888.  Columbus  and  the  Men  of  Palos.     Svo,  pp.  12, 

pamphlet.     New  York. 
1888.  Captivity  of  Father  Peter  Milet,  S.  J.,  among  the 
Oneida  Indians.     His  own  narrative,  with  supple- 


rtii 


PMIN 


xiv 


A  MEMOIR,  WITH  BIBLIOQRAPHT. 


mentary  documenta.  8vo,  pp.  118,  paper,  un- 
cut.   New  York. 

A  tranilation  by  Dr.  Shea  of  No.  18  of  the  Cramoiay  Rela- 
Uooa. 

1888.  Pope  Day  in  America.     8vo,  pp.  7.     New  York. 

1889.  Beginnings  of  the  Capuchin  Miesion  in  Louisiana. 

8vo,  pp.  6,  pamphlet.     New  York. 

1889.  Why  Is  Canada  not  a  Part  of  the  United  States? 

8vo,  pp.  15,  pamphlet.     New  York. 

1890.  An  Essay  on  the  Bibliography  of  the  Councils, 

Synods,  and  Statutes  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
the  United  States.  8vo,  pp.  16,  pamphlet.  New 
York. 

1890.  niinois,  Osage,  and  Otoptata  Chiefs  in  Paris  in 

1725.     8vo,  pp.  7,  pamphlet.     New  York. 

1891.  History  of  the  Georgetown  College.     Memorial  of 

First  Centenary,  large  8vo,  pp.  480.  Plates. 
Washington. 

No  date.  Manati  Ore  Long  Be.  8vo,  pp.  16,  pamphlet. 
No  place. 

No  date.  Sot  Weed  Factor.  Small  4to,  pp.  33.  Beprint 
of  London,  1708.     Albany. 

No  date.  An  address  from  the  Boman  Catholics  of 
America  to  Washington.  4to,  pp.  11.  Fac- 
simile, and  portrait  by  Savage.  London,  1790. 
Beprinted  and  edited  by  Dr.  Shea.  Limited 
edition. 

General.  Catholic  Directory,  Almanac,  and  Ordo  for  thf 

Year  of  Our  Lord .     12mo.     Edited  by  Dr. 

Shea  from  1857-90:  from  1857-61  with  imprint 
of  Edward  Dunigan  &  Bro.,  from  1866-90  with 
imprint  of  D.  &  J.  Sadlier.     New  York. 

1886-92.  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United 
States.  4  vols.  Vol.  I.  The  Catholic  Church  in 
Colonial  Days,  1521-1763.  Large  8vo,  pp.  689. 
Bis.  and  maps.  New  York,  1886.  Vol.  11.  Life 
and  Times  of  Most  Bev.  John  Carroll,  1763-1815. 


•»  ; 


I 


PROJECT 


or  ▲ 


SERIES  OP  fflSTOMES  OF  THE  NEW  WORLD. 


\\ 


f 


AuTBocaB  America  alone  is  generally  understood  by  the  term  New 
World,  I  here  give  it  a  wider  extent — including  all  countries  unknown 
to  Europeans  before  the  fourteb;.th  century.  The  following  is  a  brief 
plan  of  this  series  of  histories,  which  I  have  not  thought  fitting  to  lay  before 
the  public  till  I  was  able  to  announce  the  first  part  as  already  in  press. 

It  should  be  observed,  in  the  first  place,  that  most  of  the  provinces 
of  what  is  called  the  New  World  have  no  connection  with  each  other, 
and  that  there  are  few  whose  history  naturally  blends.  What  relation, 
for  example,  is  there  ^tween  New  England  and  New  Spain?  It  is 
scarcely  possible  to  write  the  history  of  a  single  European  kingdom, 
without  touching  on  that  of  all  the  others;  yet  no  one  would  think 
of  writing  a  general  history  of  all  that  part  of  the  Old  World :  how 
much  more  unreasonable  would  it  be  to  seek  to  make  a  connected 
work  on  all  America  I  We  must  then  separate  the  parts  that  have  no 
dependence  on  each  other ;  unite  those  which  cannot  be  treated  sepa- 
rately without  falling  into  repetitions  or  mutilating  them,  such  as  are 
New  France  and  Louisiana,  and  give  the  public  all  these  histories  suc- 
cessively. Now,  to  secure  a  uniformity,  so  as  to  form  a  whole,  connected 
by  the  method  observed,  I  have  adopted  this  plan. 

At  the  head  of  each  history  I  will  give  an  exact  catalogue  of  all  the 
authors  who  have  written  on  the  same  subject,  were  it  only  incidentally, 
provided  what  they  say  deserves  attention.  I  will  at  the  same  time 
note  the  assistance  which  I  have  derived  from  each,  and  my  reasons  for 
following  or  disregarding  them  ;  which  I  shall  endeavor  so  to  do,  that  no 
prejudice  and  interest  but  that  of  truth  shall  guide  my  pen. 

To  this  first  preliminary  I  shall  add  a  second,  which  is  a  generbl 
notice  of  the  country.  In  thip  I  shall  introduce  all  that  concerns  the 
character  of  the  nation,  its  origin,  government,  religion,  good  or  bad 
qualities,  the  climate  and  nature  of  the  country,  its  chief  wealth  ;  but  1 


J-  t 

<l 

I 


Jil 


PROJECT  OP  "^HE  SERIES. 


will  defer  to  the  end  of  tiic  work  all  notices  of  natural  history,  which 
require  to  be  treated  in  detail,  and  all  articles  that  could  not  enter  into 
the  body  of  the  history,  and  which  may  nevertheless  afford  interesting 
knowledge  :  such  as  what  regards  commerce,  manufactures,  plants  and 
animals,  medicine,  dec. 

As  for  the  body  of  the  history  itself,  I  shall  observe  the  same  order 
that  I  followed  in  writing  the  history  of  the  island  of  St.  Domingo,  with 
which  apparently  the  public  was  not  displeased.  I  chall  omit  nothing 
essential,  but  I  shall  avoid  useless  details.  I  know  that  the  nature  of 
the  work  requires  what  other  histories  would  not  suffer.  Things  quite 
uninteresting  in  themselves,  please  when  they  come  from  a  remote 
country,  yet  I  am  not  blind  to  the  necessity  of  selection  and  limit. 

In  this  manner  a  complete  knowledge  may  be  acquired  of  each  region 
of  the  New  World  ;^of  its  condition  when  first  discovered  ;  what  can 
be  known  of  the  history  of  its  first  inhabitants  ;  the  important  trans- 
actions since  the  entrance  of  Europeans  ;  of  its  most  curious  matters  ; — 
and  the  reader  will  be  able  to  form  a  judgment  on  those  who  have  pre- 
viously written  about  it.  Thus  the  history  of  the  New  World  will  be  no 
longer  in  danger  of  perishing  by  its  own  abundance.  What  is  really 
worthy  of  a  reader's  curiosity  will  not  be  smothered  in  things,  to  say 
the  best,  utterly  useless,  nor  embarrassed  in  contradictions;  and  it  will 
be  easy  to  make  a  just  discernment  between  the  authors  of  relations  and 
travels,  who  alone  deserve  the  discredit  which  they  have  drawn  on  all, 
and  those  writers,  who,  by  their  sincerity  and  efforts  to  acquire  informa- 
tion, are  entitled  to  be  regarded  as  safe  guides,  and  witnesses  beyond 
reproach. 

In  fine,  it  was  time  to  render  this  service  to  the  public,  while  we  have 
still  certain  rules  of  criticism  to  distinguish  lawful  and  authentic  docu- 
ments from  the  prodigious  number  of  writings  thrown  off  at  hazard, 
most  of  which  so  disfigure  truth  as  to  rendor  her  no  longer  distinguish- 
able, and  which  would  undoubtedly  destroy  all  traces  of  it,  if  the  inun- 
dation were  allowed  to  go  unchecked.  Never,  in  fact,  has  the  cacoethes 
scribendi  gone  further  than  in  this  matter.  Who  can  number  the  rela- 
tions, memoirs,  voyages,  particular  and  general  histories,  produced  by 
curiosity  to  see  and  eagerness  to  tell  what  has  been  seen,  or  what  men 
would  fain  pass  off  as  seen  ?  But  a  ray  of  light  is  still  left,  by  the  help 
of  which  we  can  disentangle  truth  from  this  monstrous  heap  of  fables, 
which  have  almost  eclipsed  it;  and  most  of  which,  although  supported 
by  pleasing  style,  and  the  pernicious  seasoning  of  satire,  libcrtinage,  and 


PROJECT  OF  THE  BEKIE8.  7 

Irreligion,  are  left  in  the  hands  of  all  claHBca  of  people,  to  the  great  pre- 
judice of  morals  and  pioty,  only  because  nothing  better  is  brought  for- 
ward to  replace  them. 

If  in  the  review  which  I  shall  make  of  all  the  works  relating  to  my 
subject  any  escape  me,  it  will  be,  ordinarily,  because  it  was  impossible 
or  inexpedient  to  draw  tht  m  from  the  obscurity  in  which  they  are  buried  ; 
and  my  silence  will  be  the  only  criticism  they  merit.  Should  I,  however, 
omit  any  that  deserve  not  to  bo  forgotten,  I  will  repair  the  fault  as  soon 
as  I  am  notified.  Thus,  if  these  latter  ages  are  justly  reproached  with 
an  unbridled  license  in  writing,  better  fitted  to  establish  in  the  mass  of 
mankind  an  utter  Pyrrhonism  in  history,  than  to  instruct  those  given  to 
such  reading,  and  better  fitted  to  degrade  the  heroes  who  have  filled  the 
New  World  with  the  fame  of  their  exploits  and  their  virtues,  by  the  fables 
introduced,  than  to  give  them  the  immortality  so  justly  their  due  ;  a  remedy 
to  such  disorder  will  be  found  in  this  work,  and  those  who  come  after  us 
will  be  better  enabled,  than  men  have  been  till  now,  to  render  justice  to  all. 

I  may  perhaps  bo  asked,  if  I  flatter  myself  that  I  shall  be  able  to  carry 
out  so  vast  a  design,  for  which  the  longest  life  would  seem  too  short.  To 
this  I  reply,  that  thoi  nature  of  this  work  does  not  require  that  all  the 
constituent  parts  be  of  the  same  hand  ;  that  it  will  not  sufier  from  diver- 
sity of  style  ;  that  this  very  diversity  has  its  attractions,  and  all  that  is 
required  is,  that  the  same  plan  should  be  followed — a  thing  easily  done. 
The  same  nearly  may  be  said  of  this  enterprise  as  of  the  discovery  of 
America.  The  worst  was  done  when  it  was  once  begun.  There  is  then 
every  reason  to  believe  that  it  will  be  continued  after  me,  and  that  if  I 
have  the  advantage  of  suggesting  the  idea,  those  who  succeed  me  will 
have  the  glory  of  perfecting  it. 

It  only  remains  to  warn  the  public  as  to  the  expense  inevitable  in  the 
execution  of  such  a  project,  that  the  price  of  the  volumes  may  not  shock 
them.  In  the  first  place,  neither  maps  nor  plans  should  be  spared,  and  I 
am  persuaded  that  this  point  will  find  no  gainsayers.  Nothing  is  more 
necessary  in  history,  of  which  geography  and  chronology  are  the  two 
eyes — especially  in  treating  of  countries  not  sufiBciently  known.  In  the 
second  place,  all  the  curious  things  furnished  by  natural  history,  will  be 
engraved,  but  only  when  we  are  sure  of  accurate  models.  In  fine,  the 
difierent  styles  of  costumes  and  arms  among  so  many  different  nations, 
their  religious  ceremonies  and  customs,  furnish  much  that  readers  will 
be  pleased  to  see  drawn  to  the  life ;  but  all  shall  be  retrenched  that  would 
merely  add  useless  expense  to  the  volumes. 


PREFACE. 


Tbis  is  the  third  work  which  I  present  to  the  public  to  falfll  my  prom 
iied  courae  of  Histories  of  the  Now  World,  on  the  plan  announced  by  me. 
This  project  is  repeated  here,  as  it  should  bo  kept  more  in  view  in  regard 
to  New  France  than  to  the  subsequent  histories,  iu  ordnr  to  Judge  them 
properly.  It  should  especially  be  remembered,  that  it  is  my  design  to 
give,  as  to  each  part  of  the  New  World,  all  that  I  find  curious,  useful,  and 
interesting  ;  consequently  to  omit  nothing  that  can  be  read  with  pleasure 
in  the  histories,  relations,  and  journals  treating  on  it,  after  sifting  the 
true  from  the  false. 

It  may  be  objected  that  a  general  history  does  not  permit  details,  and 
that  in  it  many  things  are  deemed  minutiss  which  are  tolerated  in  a  rela- 
tion. To  this  I  tepljt  that  there  are  two  distinct  kinds  of  general  history. 
That  of  a  gpreat  empire,  or  celebrated  republic,  must  be  written  in  a  style 
consonant  with  the  majesty  of  the  subject;  nothing  should  enter  to  divert 
that  attention  which  should  centre  entirely  on  the  great  events  presented; 
but  there  are  some,  not  striking  in  themselves,  and  which  nevertheless 
contain  a  series  of  objects  capable  of  interesting  and  instructing  the 
reader.  We  regard  wi^h  pleasure  the  "Battles  of  Alexander,"  by  Le 
Brun;  do  we  feel  less  in  gazing  on  a  landscape  by  Poussin  ?  A  bold  and 
daring  pencil,  guided  by  a  brilliant  imagination,  strikes  us  in  the  one; 
nature  in  her  beauty,  simple  grace,  great  variety,  and  simplicity,  a  wise 
distribution,  harmony  amid  all  parts,  the  arrangement  and  proportions,  are 
the  merit  of  the  others.  Moreover,  it  is  not  always  great  revolutions  and 
the  most  surprising  events  which  give  the  historian  the  most  judicious  re> 
flections  and  must  singular  characters.  Has  not  comedy,  which  always 
draws  its  plots,  and  generally  its  actors,  from  private  life,  attained  as 
great  perfection,  and  been  as  greatly  relished,  under  the  pen  of  a  Moliere, 
OS  tragedy,  admitting  only  heroic  actions  and  personages,  has  under  the 
great  CorneiUe  and  Racine  ? 

There  is  a  conventional  taste  for  literary  works,  which  may  not  be  a^ 
first  apparent,  but  to  which  men  soonor  or  later  return.    The  republic  of 


id 


PREFACE. 


letters  has  never  perhaps  had  more  censors  than  now;  but  as  many  con* 
suit  less  the  light  of  their  intellect,  than  prejudice  or  some  other  foreign 
motive,  the  most  docile  and  least  prejudiced  authors  would  often  be  embar- 
rassed, were  they  disposed  to  regard  all  the  criticisms  passed  on  their 
works.     I  may  be  allowed  to  cite  my  own  example. 

When  the  History  of  St.  Domingo  appeared,  one  censor  found  the  whole 
first  volume  useless;  others  wished  that  I  had  omitted  all  reference  to  the 
freebooters  and  buccaneers;  but  what  kind  of  history  of  St.  Domingo 
would  it  be,  that  described  neither  the  island,  nor  its  discovery,  nor  the 
Spanish  settlements,  nor  the  revolutions  which  that  people  experienced 
there,  nor  how  this  first  of  their  colonies  in  the  New  World  became  the 
mother  of  all  the  others,  nor  what  reduced  it  to  the  pitiable  state  in 
which  we  behold  it  now;  nor,  in  fine,  by  whom  and  how  the  French 
planted  there  the  finest  establishment  which  they  have  ever  had  in  America  ? 
Had  I  listened  to  these  difierent  criticisms,  would  I  not  be  like  the  man 
in  the  fable,  whose  two  wives  plucked  every  hair  from  his  head  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  I  am  aware  that  others  find  fault  with  my  concise- 
ness as  to  certain  facts,  where  I  confined  myself  to  what  seemed  to  belong 
to  my  subject ;  they  would  have  wished  me,  for  example,  to  have  followed 
the  career  of  Cortez  to  the  close  of  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  as  though  his 
actions  in  St.  Domingo  would  justify  or  require  my  giving  the  whole  life 
of  that  Conquistador.  On  the  same  principle,  I  should  have  had  to  follow 
Almagro  and  Pizarro,  Valdivia  and  all  others  who  had  ever  been  settlers 
in  St.  Domingo,  through  all  their  expeditions,  and  the  history  of  St. 
Domingo  would  swell  into  one  of  almost  the  whole  Spanish  empire  in 
America. 

I  experienced  the  same  clashing  criticisms  on  the  History  of  Japan. 
The  author  of  the  Bibliothique  Raisonnie,  estimable  for  his  learning,  im- 
agined that  I  wished  to  depreciate  Kcempfer's  work.  Yet  I  have  every 
reason  to  believe  that  this  ab.e  writer  had  not,  at  the  time,  read  either 
the  German  Doctor's  work  or  mine,  of  which  he  would  perhaps  have 
spoken  more  favorably,  had  he  not  been  in  a  bad  humor.  I  esteem 
Koempfer's  work,  and  I  cannot  be  reproached  with  failing  to  do  him  jus- 
tice; but  his  two  volumes  contain  only  three  or  four  historical  facts,  and 
these  related  on  tradition ;  and  I  think  that  I  have  shown  them  to  be  al- 
most all  disfigured  in  the  main  circumstances.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
see  what  is  said  of  Peter  Nuits,  in  Formosa  :  Koerapfer  makes  it  a  ro- 
mance, in  which  not  even  probability  is  retained.  In  the  Voyages  au 
Nord,  which  I  followed,  it  is  a  curious  circumstantial  event,  connecting 


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I 


PREFACE, 


It 


perfectly  with  the  history,  and  containing  nothing  incredible.  Excepting 
these  anecdotes,  which  are  touched  upon  only  incidentally,  the  work  of 
the  learned  physician  contains  but  a  description  of  the  kingdom  of  Siam, 
the  abridged  chronology  of  the  Japanese  en^pire,  a  very  full  description 
of  that  empire,  its  government,  administration,  religion,  geography,  the 
commerce  of  the  Dutch,  and  the  journals  of  his  two  journeys  from  Nan- 
gasaki  to  Jeddo,  in  the  train  of  the  Dutch  President ;  journals  which  show 
a  traveller  careful  to  note  every  thing  worth  his  while,  pnd  which  enter 
appositely  in  the  memoirs  of  a  man  who  travels  simply  for  his  own  in- 
struction. Of  all  this  I  availed  myself,  to  write  an  exact  description  of 
Japan,  giving  full  credit  to  Kcempfer  for  all  that  he  had  published  in  that 
work,  or  in  uis  Amcenitaies  ExoticoB,  on  the  natural  history  of  those  islands. 
But  for  history  I  gained  nothing,  and  I  should  surely  have  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  derive  enough  from  it  to  fill  a  printed  leaf,  even  had  the  matter 
been  exact. 

Those  who  found  my  preliminary  book  useless  and  prolix,  have  simply 
failed  to  read  more  than  half  my  title,  which  promises  a  general  descrip- 
tion and  history.  Now,  to  reduce  to  less  than  half  a  duodecimo  volume, 
including  the  matter  added  at  the  close  of  the  work,  what  occupies  three- 
fourths  of  Koempfer's  two  folios,  is  surely  not  being  too  diffuse. 

Ti  some  I  seemed  to  give  too  much  space  to  religious  affairs;  others, 
on  the  contrary,  who  deemed  that  part  of  my  work  the  most  pre- 
cious chapter  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  these  later  ages,  have  not 
approved  my  condensation.  My  endeavor  was  to  strike  a  medium  be- 
tween these  two  extremes,  and  were  the  task  to  be  begun  anew,  I  should 
take  it  again.  As  for  those  who  aver  that  I  treated  of  civil  and  political 
history,  only  incidentally,  and  so  as  to  connect  the  facts,  it  is  evident  that 
they  would  have  spoken  differently  had  they  read  my  book  consecutively, 
or  simply  perused  the  three  extracts  given  in  our  "  M^moires  de  Tr6voux," 
for  June,  August,  and  October,  1737.  In  one  word,  to  meet  these  differ- 
ent criticisms,  I  can  only  refer  the  authors  of  them  to  the  plan  proposed  by 
me  when  I  undertook  a  course  of  histories  of  the  New  World.  This  plan 
has  not  to  my  knowledge  been  disapproved.  If  I  have  followed  it  ex- 
actly, I  am  in  order  ;  if  I  have  not,  or  dc  not  in  future,  I  shall  be  pleased 
to  know  where,  and  correct  it  at  once. 

There  still  remains  a  wide  field  for  criticism,  in  the  manner  of  writing, 
in  the  reflections,  the  characters,  the  order  and  distribution  of  facts,  and  in 
all  this  censure  will  not  surprise  me.  Obliged  for  many  years  to  devote 
a  part  of  my  time  to  giving  the  public  an  account  of  the  writings  of 


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PBEFACE. 


others,  and  neiag,  I  venture  to  say,  with  moderation  and  impartiality,  bat 
still  with  liberty,  the  right  given,  or  rather  the  duty  imposed  by  my  po 
sition  as  reviewer,  I  ask  no  more  than  to  be  treated  by  my  fellow  critics 
as  I  treat  those  of  whom  I  speak  my  mind  :  Et  refellere  sine  perlinada  et 
refeUi  sine  iracundid parati  sumus.    (Cicero,  2  Tusc,  n.  5.) 

It  would  doubtless  have  been  more  easy  and  agreeable  for  me  to  take, 
if  I  may  use  the  expression,  only  the  cream  of  the  history  of  the  New 
World.  I  should  soon  have  reached  the  term  of  my  career  and  bad  ap- 
parently more  readers;  but  those  who  wish  to  be  thoroughly  informed, 
would  have  been  obliged  to  turn  to  a  host  of  books,  not  easily  obtained, 
and  some  of  them  very  rare,  where  the  interesting  facts  are  swallowed 
up  in  details  and  tediotis  accounts,  and  where  it  is  not  easy  to  separate 
truth  from  falsehood;  and  moreover,  there  are  many,  the  perusal  of  which 
is  not  devoid  of  danger  to  morals  and  religion. 

To  come  to  the  subject  of  the  work  which  I  now  present  to  the  public, 
I  am  sensible  of  all  its  disadvantages.  It  treats  of  an  immense  country, 
which,  though  two  centuries  have  elapsed  since  our  discovery  of  it,  is  even 
less  peopled  than  it  was  then,  although  French  enough  have  crossed  to  re- 
place thrice  over  the  Indians  found  there,  and  whom  they  cannot  be  re- 
proached with  having  destroyed.  This  does  not  promise  a  history  filled 
with  interesting  facts ;  but  the  history  was  called  for,  and  with  reason. 
It  is  the  history  of  all  the  French  colonies  in  the  New  World,  which  have 
been  honored  with  the  title  of  New  France,  or  which  have  formed  a  part 
of  it;  and  it  was  wanting.  Moreover,  it  presents,  at  least  in  the  origin 
of  the  principal  settlements,  only  objects  to  heighten  esteem  for  our 
nation,  the  only  one  which  has  possessed  the  secret  of  gaining  the  affec- 
tion of  the  American. 

In  fact,  the  founders  of  these  colonies,  had  it,  for  the  most  part,  far 
more  at  heart  to  plant  the  Faith  among  the  savages,  than  to  acquire 
wealth;  our  kings  recommended  nothing  more  earnestly  to  those  to  whom 
they  confided  their  authority,  than  the  protection  of  religion,  and  have 
almost  always  sacrificed  their  own  interest  to  this  view,  so  worthy  of  the 
oldest  sons  of  the  Church.  The  sole  motive  of  procuring  the  eternal  sal- 
vation of  these  tribes,  has  led  them  more  than  once  to  reject  the  project 
of  renouncing  a  country  that  was  a  burden.  Who  then  has  arrested  the 
progress  of  the  gospel  among  the  Indians,  and  whence  comes  it,  that  the 
most  ancient  of  our  colonies,  which  should  naturally  be  the  most  populous, 
is  still  the  weakest  of  all  ?  The  course  of  this  history  will  unveil  it  to 
those  who  take  the  pains  to  read  attentively. 


>.r 


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n 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES 

OP  THE  NEW   WORLD,  AND  OF  THE  COLONIES  PLANTED 
THERE  BT  EUROPEANS. 


n 


OOBBBCTED    ARD    BHLA,&OaO. 


w 


r 


1248. 

Some  assign  to  this  year  the  first  voyages  to  Greenland,  erMniui 
which  Mr.  Savary  calls  la  Oroenlande,  but  they  are  in  error. 
This  great  country  was  known    to  the  Norwegians  in  the 
ninth  century,  and  far  better  than  it  is  now. 


1363- 
It  is  not  known  precisely  in  what  year  the  French  began  to 
trade  to  Guinea,  but  it  is  certain  that  in  1364  Dieppe  mer- 
chants had  discovered  the  coast  and  traded  there.  Their 
memory  is  still  dear  to  the  inhabitants,  who  hand  it  down 
by  tradition.  The  just  conduct  of  these  navigators,  and  the 
very- opposite  manners  of  other  Europeans,  whom  they  subse- 
quently knew,  have  made  them  greatly  regret  the  Dieppese. 
The  name  of  Little  Dieppe  has  been  retained  by  a  place  on 
the  Grain  Coast. 


Gnlnt^ 


1383- 

The  Dieppese  form  an  establishment  at  a  spot  on  the  same 
coast  where  Fort  de  la  Mine  is  now.  The  civil  wars  of 
France  in  the  reigns  of  Charles  VI.  and  VII.  forced  them  in 
1 410  to  abandon  it. 


Fort  da  U 
Viae. 


awBss! 


14 


HISTORT  nw  NEW  FRANCE. 


Otattr 


1401,    1405. 

The  Canary  Isles,  which  some  pretend,  without  adducing 
any  suflScient  proof,  to  be  the  Fortunate  Isles,  so  vaunted  by 
the  ancients,  were  unknown  to  Europeans  till  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  fourteenth  century.  Genoese  and  Catalan  naviga- 
tors having  acquired  some  knowledge  about  1345,  Luis  de  la 
Cerda,  whose  father  had  been  disinherited  by  Alphonsus  X., 
king  of  Castile,  his  grandfather,  was  shortly  after  crowned, 
by  Pope  Clement  VI.,  king  of  the  Canaries  ;  but  he  did  not 
vake  possession  of  this  kingdom,  and  the  Canaries  relapsed 
into  oblivion.  In  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth,  or  the  close 
of  the  preceding  century,  Henry  III.,  king  of  Castile,  gave 
them  to  John  de  Bethancourt,  a  Norman  gentleman  ;  others 
say  to  Robert  de  Braquemont,  afterwards  Admiral  of  France, 
who  sent  thither  John  de  Bethancourt,  Baron  of  St.  Martin  le 
Gaillard,  his  kinsman.  The  'itter,  in  1401,  or  1405,  made 
himself  master  of  the  isles  of  Lanzarota,  Fuerte  Ventura,  and 
Ferro,  and  was  acknowledged  as  king.  Maciot  de  Bethan- 
court, his  relative  and  successor,  subsequently  ceded  his 
rights  to  the  Infante  of  Portugal,  Dom  Henry  Count  de 
Viseu,  who  sent  thither  Ferdinand  de  Castro,  Grand  Master 
of  his  house.  Authors  do  not  agree  as  to  the  time  when  the 
other  islands  were  discovered.  One  fact  is  certain,  the  king 
of  Castile  having  protested  against  the  cession  of  Maciot  de 
Bethancourt,  by  virtue  of  his  assumed  right  of  sovereignty 
over  the  Canaries,  a  treaty  was  made  between  that  prince 
and  the  Infante  of  Portugal,  whereby  these  islands  were 
restored  to  the  Crown  of  Castile,  which  still  possesses  them. 


I  I 


w 


Ckpe 
BojMor. 


1412. 

First  voyage  of  the  Portuguese  i  long  the  coast  of  Africa. 
Their  voyages  for  a  long  time  terminated  at  Cape  Bojador, 
which  they  durst  not  double. 


1418. 

Porto  B«nto.  Discovery  of  the  Island  of  Porto  Santo,  by  Tristan  Vaz  and 
John  Gonzales  Zarco,  Portuguese.  They  gave  it  th'y  name 
because  they  reached  it  on  All  Saints. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


'4»9. 


Discovery  of  the  island  of  Madeira  by  the  same.  Each 
gave  his  name  to  the  point  where  he  landed  ;  and  Gonzales 
having  found  at  his  debarkation  a  grotto,  used  as  a  refuge 
by  seals,  called  the  spot  Cambra  de  Lobos  Marinos,  and  took 
the  surname  of  Cambra,  and  more  commonly  Oamara,  which 
has  been  retained  by  his  illustrious  family.  The  name  Ma- 
deira was  given  to  this  island  because  it  was  all  covered 
with  woods  ;  for  Madeira,  in  Portuguese,  means  wood,  and  is 
apparently  the  origin  of  the  Fiench  word  madrier.  Some 
English  authors  pretend  that  Madeira  was  discovered  over 
sixty  years  before,  by  Machin,  one  of  their  countrymen,  who, 
with  his  wife,  was  thrown  up  there  by  chance  in  a  storm. 
They  add  that  Machin,  having  lost  his  wife,  took  to  the  sea 
again,  and  informed  the  Spaniards  of  his  discovery,  and  that 
on  his  information  Spanish  and  French  navigators  went  to 
those  parts,  but  did  not  discover  Madeira,  although  they 
landed  repeatedly  in  the  Canaries. 


IS 


MtJetn 


4 

i 
.f 


1439- 
Gil  Afiez,  a  Portuguese,  doubled  Cape  Bojador,  accompanied 
by  Anthony  Gonzales  Baldaya.  This  promontory  is  asserted 
to  be  the  same  laid  down  in  Ptolemy,  under  the  name  Canarea. 
The  name  Bojador  was  given  by  the  Portuguese,  because  to 
pass  it  you  must  first  row  pretty  far  to  the  west,  then  turn 
east,    Bojar,  in  Portuguese,  means  to  row. 


Bojidor. 


1440. 

Nufio  Tristan,  a  Portuguese,  discovers  Cape  Blanco.  Some 
authors  also  place  in  this  same  year  the  discovery  of  Cape 
Verde,  but  the  opinion  is  not  generally  followed. 


0*p« 
Blanoo. 


I     ' 


\ 


141.2-1443. 

Anthony  Gonzales,   a    Portuguese,  discovers   Rio  del   Oio.  KiodeiOro 
The  same  year  he  discovers   the    Isles  of  Arguyn,   opposite 
Cape  Blanco.     The   lufante,  Dom   Henry,  built  a  fort  there, 
wliich  was  taken  by  tiie  Dutch  in  1638. 


V 


16 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1445- 


AngnL  Gonzalo  de  Ointra,  a  Portuguese,  discovered  on  the  same 
coast  of  Nigritia  a  great  bay,  where  he  was  killed.  It  was 
after  him  called  Angra  de  Cintra — that  is,  Cintra's  Bay.  It 
gradually  came  to  be  called  simply  Angra. 

>446. 
Cf  v«rde.  Niifio  Tristan,  already  mentioned,  discoTers  Cape  Verde ;  he 
passed  the  mouth  of  the  Senegal  without  discoveiing  it,  foi 
Gape  Verde  has  the  Senegal  on  the  north  and  the  Gambia  on 
the  south.  These  two  rivers  are  the  principal  branches  of 
the  Niger.  Some  attribute  the  discovery  of  Cape  Verde  to 
Denis  Fernandez  :  be  perhaps  accompanied  Nuiio  Tristan. 


>447- 
8«n<gai.  Lanzarote,  a  Portuguese,  discovers  the  Senegal,  which  the 
natives  call  Oved^c.  Lanzarote  gives  it  the  name  of  Senega 
or  Sanega,  from  a  negro  of  rank  whom  he  enslaved,  but  who 
ransomed  himself.  The  Portuguese  at  first  took  this  river 
for  a  branch  of  the  Nile.  Some  assign  this  discovery  to  the 
next  year. 

1448. 

Amtm.  Dom  Gonzalo  Velio,  Commander  of  Almouros,  set  out  this 
year  from  Portugal  to  explore  the  Azores,  so  called  from  the 
numbers  of  vultures  found  there,  for  Azov,  in  Spanish  and 
Portuguese,  means  a  vulture.  These  islands  were  also  called 
Terceiras,  from  the  name  of  the  largest,  which  is  the  third  met 
going  from  Portugal,  and  hence  called  Terceira.  The  Com- 
mander explored  only  the  isles  of  Fayal,  Pico,  St.  George,  La 
Graciosa,  Terceira,  Santa  Maria,  and  San  Miguel.  The  last  is 
celebrated  for  the  famous  naval  battle  gained  here  in  1582,  by 
the  Marquis  of  Santa  Cruz  over  Dom  Antonio,  calling  himself 
king  of  Portugal.  The  islands  of  Flores  and  Corvo  were  not 
known  till  some  years  later.  All  these  islands  were  uninhab- 
ited when  the  Portuguese  Commander  landed  there,  except 
Fayal,  where  some  Flemish  families  had  settled  on  the  banks  of 
a  river     Boterus  says  that  the  Azores  were  discovered  in  1439, 


\\ 


1 


ti 


CHRONOLOaiCAL  TABLES.  Xl 

but  he  is  appu.ently  mistaken,  Flemings  b&ving  been  there     Anni. 
even  before  that  date.    The  Portuguese  originally  placed  their  r 

first  meridian  at  the  two  islands  Flores  and  Gorvo,  which  lie  v 

north  and  south,  from  their  believing  that  they  had  observed 
that  the  needle  did  not  vary  in  passing  them.  Other  naviga- 
tors declare  the  observation  to  be  false.  The  Portuguese,  we 
know  certainly,  afterwards  fixed  their  meridian  at  Pico,  and 
several  nations  followed  their  example.  The  French  adopted 
He  de  Fer  (Ferro),  one  of  the  Canaries.  lu  the  island  of 
Gorvo,  at  its  discovery,  an  equestrian  statue,  of  some  material 
not  recognized,  was  found,  on  a  pedestal  of  the  same,  bearing 
characters  which  could  not  be  deciphered,  and  which  no  one 
took  pains  to  preserve.  Early  navigators  paid  little  attention 
to  monuments  of  this  kind.  The  figure  pointed  with  its  right 
hand  westward,  as  if  to  designate  that  there  were  lands  in  that 
direction.  The  Gommander  of  Almouros  began  a  settlement  on 
the  Azores. 

H49- 
Discovery  of  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  by  Anthony  Nolli,  a  ouMTcni* 
Genoese,  in  the  name  of  the  infante  Dom  Henry,  count  of  Viseu. 
The  first  which  he  reached  was  called  Isle  of  May,  because  he 
landed  on  May-day.  At  the  same  time,  he  discovered  two 
others,  to  which  he  gave  the  names  of  St.  James  and  St.  Philip, 
whose  festival  was  kept  on  that  day.  The  others  were  not 
discovered  till  1460,  by  the  Portuguese,  who  then  began  to  set- 
tle them  all.  Father  du  Jarric  is  mistaken  in  saying  that  the 
Portuguese  made  this  discovery  in  1446  ;  and  Sanut  is  also,  in 
attributing  it  to  Loais  de  Cadamosto,  a  noble  Venetian,  sent, 
he  says,  by  the  infante  of  Portugal,  to  discover  new  lands, 
unless  he  means  that  Cadamosto  commanded  the  squadron 
which,  in  1460,  discovered  those  islands  not  seen  by  Nolli. 
Some  authors  take  these  islands  for  the  Gorgones  of  Pomponius 
Mela  ;  others  for  the  Gorgades  of  Pliny  ;  others  for  the  boasted 
Hesperides  of  the  ancients  ;  others,  in  fine,  for  the  Fortunate 
Isles.  And  these  various  opinions  have  some  probability,  but 
only  that.  I  should  rather  incline  to  believe  the  Canaries  to 
be  the  Hesperidei,  and  the  Cape  Verde  islands,  the  Fortunate 
Isles  ;  but  the  name  Fortunate  suits  Cape  Verde  itsfilf.  better 
Vol.  I.— 8 


I 


Q  tf.ll 


P 


18 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  PRANCE. 


Otp«T*rd«  than 


faUnili. 


tlio  islands  to  which  it  has  given  its  name,  for  their 
atmosphere  is  not  healthy,  and  they  have  nothing  to  recom- 
mend them. 


9t.  Thnmu 

mill  Prinoc'i 

Island. 

Cape  St 

Catlmrlne. 

Gold  Ootat. 


1471. 

John  dc  Santarem  and  Peter  de  Escovar,  Portuguese,  sent  by 
Dom  Ferdinand  Gomez,  discovered  St.  Thomas,  Prince's  Island, 
and  Cape  St.  Catharine, — the  latter  so  called  from  being  dis- 
covered on  the  festival  of  that  saint.  They  found,  all  along 
that  coast,  many  gold  mines,  which  obtained  for  it  the  name 
of  Gold  Coast. 


1472. 
Annobon        On  the  first  day  of  the  ensuing  year,  they  discovered  an 
island,  which  they  called  Anno  Bueno,  from  the  day.    It  is 
commonly  styled  Annobon. 


EstutiUnd. 
Labrador. 


H77- 
It  is  pretended  that  in  this  year  John  Scalve,  a  Pole,  ex- 
plored Estotiland  and  Labrador  ;  but  it  lacks  proof.    He  cer- 
tainly made  no  settlement.     It  is  even   admitted  now  that 
Estotiland  is  a  chimerical  country. 


1481. 

St.  oeorje  of  Dicgo  dc  Azambuja,  a  Portuguese,  built  Fort  St.  George  of 
the  Mine,  on  the  site  of  the  French  one  erected  a  century 
before. 

1484. 
Congo,  Banin,      Diego  Cam,  a  Portuguese,  discovered  the  kingdom  of  Congo, 

Prwtcr  John.  00  ^  ^ 

which  comprised  then  Angola,  Matamba,  and  several  other 
kingdoms,  afterwards  separated  from  it.  It  seems  that  on  his 
return,  or  at  least  on  the  same  voyage,  he  entered  the  kingdom 
of  Benin.  He  then  learned  that  the  king  of  Benin  received  the 
investiture  of  his  kingdom,  from  a  more  powerful  prince,  by 
the  royal  mantle  and  a  stafif,  with  a  cross  like  that  of  Malta  ; 
and  that  the  States  of  this  great  monarch  lay  two  hundred 
and  fifty  leagues  from  Benin.  On  his  return,  he  informed  his 
royal  master,  who  inferred  it  to  be  Prester  John  ;  and  three 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


19 


years  after,  Peter  do  Covillam  and  Alphonsus  do  Payva  were  PrMter  Jobs, 
seni  to  that  prince,  who  was  believed  to  bo  the  emperor  of  the 
Abyasinians.  The  two  deputies  embarked  at  Aden,  a  port  in 
Arabia  Felix  ;  then  separating,  Payva  set  out  for  Abyssinia, 
and  died  on  the  way.  Covillam  started  for  India,  went  to 
Oananor,  Goa,  Calicut,  returned  to  Africa,  landed  in  the  king- 
dom of  Sofala,  passed  thence  to  Ormuz,  whence  he  reached  the 
court  of  the  emperor  of  the  Abyssinians. 


Otpe  of 
Qood  Hop*. 


Pint  dU- 
oovery  of 
Amsrloa. 


i486. 

Bartholomew  Diaz,  his  brother,  Puter  Diaz,  and  John  Infants, 
Portuguese,  discovered  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  They  called  it 
Cape  Tempest,  because  they  encountered  terrible  storms  there  ; 
but  the  king  of  Portugal,  seeing  that  this  discovery  opened  to 
him  the  path  to  the  Indies,  changed  the  name  to  that  which  it 
has  since  borne. 

Christopher  Columbus,  a  Genoese,  on  the  Uth  of  October, 
discovered  the  first  land  in  America,  and  took  possession  of  it 
in  the  name  of  the  crowa  of  Castile.  It  was  one  of  the  Baha- 
mas, called  Guanahani,  but  to  v  jich  he  gave  the  name  of  San 
Salvador.  He  then  discovered  8eve"«l  others  ;  then  Cuba,  and 
at  last  Hayti,  which  he  called  Hispauiola.  The  French  call 
it  St.  Domingue,  from  the  name  of  its  capital. 


1493- 

Pope  Alexander  YI.  traced  the  famous  line  of  demarkation.  Line  of  da 
to  bring  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  to  a  compromise  in  re- 
gard to  their  discoveries.  It  ran  through  the  middle  of  the 
sea,  between  the  Azores  and  Capo  Verde  islands  ;  but  it  was 
subsequently  set  back  three  hundred  and  seventy  leagues 
west. 

In  the  month  of  October,  of  the  same  year,  Christopher  Co- 
lumbus discovered  most  of  the  Little  Antilles,  and  the  majority 
of  the  names  given  by  him  are  still  preserved.  He  then  dis- 
covered Boriquen,  and  called  it  the  island  of  St.  John  the 
Baptis*^.  The  name  of  Puerto  Rico  was  afterwards  added. 
The  Frfcuch  call  it  Porto  Rico. 


Little 
Anttlleb 


I 


m 


I 


.  :j:hmtimimiiiM'*»«r<irtfi-"rii..^f^  ■,v.amaim 


90 


HIBTOKY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


World. 


Tticiice  lie  passed  to  Hispaniuln,  where  he  founded  the  first 
city  built  by  the  Europeans  in  the  New  World,  and  called  it 
Isabel,  in  honor  of  the  queen  of  Castile,  who  bore  that  name. 


Nawlbnnd' 
lud. 


»494- 

On  the  14th  of  March,  Christopher  Columbus  discovers 
Jamaica.  He  gave  it  the  name  of  Santiago  ;  but  its  original 
name,  Jamaica,  has  prevailed.  In  the  same  voyage,  he  as- 
sured himself  that  Cuba  was  an  island. 

1496. 

On  the  5th  of  March,  Henry  VII.,  king  of  Englanu,  granted 
a  patent  to  John  Cabot  or  Gabato,  a  Venetian,  and  his  three 
sons,  to  go  and  discover  new  land.  The  conditions  were,  that 
after  deducting  all  expenses,  they  were  to  give  the  king  the 
fifth  of  the  profits.  This  is  verified  by  the  public  acts  of 
England.  What  follows  is  not  so  certain.  It  is  pretended 
that  the  Cabots  discovered  Newfoundland,  and  a  part  of  the 
Liriirador.  continent  of  Labrador  or  Laborador.  They  went,  it  is  said,  as 
far  north  as  the  fifty-fifth  degree,  and  took  four  Indians  to 
England.  Nevertheless,  good  authors  assert  that  thry  landed 
nowhere,  on  continent  or  island.     Others  have  since  pretended 

EstoUiwd.  that  Estotiland,  which  was  placed  north  or  west  of  Labrador, 
was  discovered  in  1390,  by  fishermen  of  Frieseland.  Anthony 
Zani,  it  is  said,  a  noble  Venetian,  and  his  brother,  Nicholas 
Zaui,  hpvjng  sailed  from  the  coast  of  Ireland,  were  driven  by 
stress  of  weather  on  Frieseland,  believed  to  be  a  part  of 
Greenland,  and  there  learned  of  this  discovery.  In  their  re- 
lation, tLey  gave  a  magnificent  description  of  Estotiland  ;  but 
this  account  is  evidently  a  romance. 

First  voyig*      On  Saturday,  July  8th,  in  the  same  year,  Vasco  de  Gama 
Ma.*  '  sailed  from  Lisbon  for  Ethiopia  and  the  Indies,  by  way  of  the 
Naui.      Cape  of  Good  Hope.     On  Christmas-da; ,  he  discovered  a  land, 
which  he  called  the  land  of  Natal,  from  the  day, 

J498. 

Elver  del        On  the  6th  of  January,  he  perceived  a  large  river,  which  he 
biqn«,  Qniioi,  called  River  of  the  Kings,  then  Mozambique,  then  the  king- 
doms of  Quiloa,  Mombaza,   Melinda,  and  Sofala  ;   at  several 


w 


1 1 


CURONOLOOICAL  TABLES. 


m 


pointfl,  he  took  poBHVRHion  of  tho  country  in  tho  namo  of  tlic    D«aam« 
king  of  Fortugul.     On  tliu  20tli  of  May,  he  arrived  at  Culictit.    non  i>r tht 
Burros  hu^h  that  he  Hulled  from  Mozambique  on  tho  24th  of 
August,  ^nd  reuchcd  Cuiicut  in  twenty-two  days.     If  this  is  so, 
hA  anchored  i>efore  that  town  on  the  16th,  und  not  on  tho  20th, 
lie  is  the  first  -vho  reuchod  India  by  that  route. 

On  the  last  day  of  July,  in  the  same  year,  Christopher  Coluni-  Trinidad, 
bus  discovered  Trinidad.  Some  say  that  he  gave  it  this  name 
because,  at  first,  it  seemed  to  have  a  mountain  with  three 
summits.  Others  pretend  that  he  had  made  a  vow  to  give 
this  name  to  the  first  land  he  saw.  On  the  12th  of  August 
he  landed,  and  was  soon  convinced  that  Trinidad  was  an 
island. 

On  the  11th,  he  had  seen  another  land,  which  also  he,  at  first,  i)i>oo?error 

■   11  1  ii»i/-i  11  f  ^*  Cfintlnanl 

took  to  be  an  island,  and  styled  Isla  Santa  ;  but  he  soon  found  urAmerioa. 
it  to  be  the  continent,  and  he  gave  the  whole  coast,  which  ho  Orinoco,  ui* 
ran  along  in  full  sight,  the  name  of  Paria,  for  he  found  that  tho 
people  BO  called  it.  Some  days  after,  having  been  in  great 
danger,  in  one  of  the  mouths  of  the  Orinoco,  he  culled  it  Boca 
del  Dragon.  Thence  he  passed  to  the  Gulf  of  Pearls,  and  dis- 
covered three  islands  :  he  called  the  first  Margarita,  on  ac- 
count of  the  pearls  found  in  this  gulf;  the  other  two  were 
called  Cochem  and  Cubagua  ;  the  latter,  having  the  greatest 
pearl-fishery,  has  long  borne  the  name  of  Isle  of  Pearls. 


H99- 
On  the  16th  of  May,  Alphonso  de  Ojeda,  a  Spanish  gentle- 
man, accompanied  by  Americus  Yesputius,  a  Florentine,  and 
Juan  de  la  Cosa,  the  most  able  pilot  then  in  Spain,  landed  un 
the  continent  of  America,  two  hundred  leagues  east  of  the  Ori- 
noco ;  coasted  along  for  two  hundred  leagues  to  a  cape,  which 
he  called  De  la  Vela  ;  discovered  the  Gulf  of  Maracaibo,  and 
gave  the  name  of  Venezuela — that  is  to  say.  Little  Venice — to  a 
town  which  he  found,  built  on  the  water,  somewhat  like  that 
great  city.  This  name  was  subsequently  extended  to  all  the 
province.  He  finally  explored  all  the  coast  of  Cumana.  Amer- 
icus Vesputius,  who  was  only  a  ship's  husband  on  the  squadron 
commanded  by  Ojeda,  published  an  account  of  this  discovery, 
of  which  he  assumed  all  the  honor  ;  and  to  persuade  the  public 


Oap«  lie  !• 

Vela.     Vene- 

tuela, 

Cumaoa. 


J. 
ill'' 


I 


II  HIBTOBY  OP  NEW  FRANOa 

AmtrtoiM    tliat  he  wa8  thu  flist  of  all  EuropounH  to  hind  on  tbo  continent 

Vftipntluflk 

of  the  New  World,  lie  vontnrud  to  asHKit  tliut  hiH  voyuK*'  li>id 

laHtod  twenty-five  niontliH.     Ojeda,  intorro^futod  jiiiidit;ully  uh 

to  tliJH  fact,  denied  it ;  but,  aH  he  hud  been  iit  HiHt  l)t>lieved  un 

hii)  word,  people  had  become  accustomed  to  give  his  name  to 

the  New  World,  and  error  prevailed  ovr  truth. 

R«iiii|irini|i       Towardii  the  oIohc  of  the  Rume  your  (JhriHtoplier  Ouerra  and 

'"'*    Pero  Alonzo   Nino,  diBcoverod   the   point  of  Ayola,  which  is 

north  and  south  of  the  western  point  of  Margarita,  and  found 

there  very  fine  salt-Hprings. 


Br>i<l. 
Uaraflion. 


1500. 

Vincent  YaRez  Piuzon,  a  Spaniard,  wlio  bad  accompanied 
Columbus  in  hin  first  voyage,  having  sailed  from  Spain  in  the 
latter  part  of  December,  1499,  discovered,  on  the  26th  of  Jan- 
uary, a  cape  in  Brazil,  which  he  named  Cape  Consolation,  and 
took  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the  crown  of  Oastile. 
The  Portuguese  afterwards  called  it  St.  Augustine.  Pinzou 
then  thought  that  ho  perceived  the  mouth  of  a  great  river, 
which  he  called  Maraflaon  ;  it  was  subsequently  found  that  it 
was  only  a  bay,  at  the  end  of  which  there  is  an  island,  now 
bearing  the  name  of  Maranham,  which  it  has  given  to  a  whole 
province  in  Brazil.  Three  fine  rivers  empty  into  the  bay,  but 
none  of  them  bears  the  name  of  Maraflaon.  Father  Christopher 
d'Acufia,  in  his  description  of  the  Amazon  River,  pretends  that 
a  river,  which  he  calls  the  Marafion,  i.ssues  from  this  great 
river  and  empties  into  the  bay  just  mentioned,  but  he  is  mis- 
taken. Some  French  Capuchins  had  a  mission  in  the  island  of 
Maraflaon,  which  they  write  Maragnan,  following  the  Portu- 
guese pronunciation,  while  the  Spaniards  write  auu  'pronounce 
it  Maraflon. 

On  the  8th,  or,  according  to  others,  the  9th  of  March,  in  the 
same  year,  Dom  Pero  Alvarez  Cabral  sailed  from  Lisbon,  on  the 
second  voyage  to  India.  On  Holy  Saturday,  after  experiencing 
a  terrible  storm,  which  scattered  a  part  of  his  fleet,  and  swal- 
lowed up  some  of  his  ships,  he  was  cast  with  the  rest  on  the 
coast  of  Brazil.  He  entered  a  port  which  he  called  Porto 
Securo  :  he  then  gave  all  the  country  the  name  of  Holy  Cross, 
and  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Portugal,  his 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


98 


maRter.    The  natno  Brazil,  or,  an  tho  French  write,  Br^nil,  {h      Bmii. 
that  given  l>y  the  natives  of  tho  country,  and  it  han  prevailed 
over  that  of  Holy  CroHS.     Cal>ral  then  reHUinod  hia  voyage  to 
India,   arrived   at  Calicut  on   the  18th  of  September,  thence 
paBsed  to  Cananor,  and  Anally  to  Cochitn. 

Nothing  in  more  fabulouH  than  tho  story,  then  current  in 
Spain,  and  much  circulated  by  those  envious  of  Columbus— 
namely,  that  a  caravel,  currying  Spanish  wines  to  England, 
after  being  long  buflFeted  by  the  winds,  was  forced  to  run 
south,  then  west,  and  at  lust  found  itself  near  an  island,  where 
the  crew  landed  to  rest  after  their  hardships  at  sea.  Others 
say  that  it  was  on  the  coast  of  Pcrnambuco,  but  all  agree  that 
it  was  in  Brazil.  They  added  that  the  Andalusian,  Biscayan, 
or  Portuguoso  pilot  (for  they  vary  on  this  point),  returning  to 
Europe,  after  losing  almost  all  his  crew,  died  at  the  house  of 
Columbus,  in  the  island  of  Porto  Sauto,  and  left  him  all  his 
notes,  of  which  he  availed  himself  to  discover  the  New  World. 
This  matter  was  in  the  sequel  examined  in  the  Council  of  the 
Indies,  and  the  imposture  confounded.  Moreover,  if  Columbus 
had  had  these  notes  he  would  have  crossed  the  Equator,  which 
he  never  did. 

This  same  year  Oaspar  de  Cortereal,  a  Portuguese  gentle-   Newihund> 

,  lind. 

man,  landed  in  the  island  of  Newfoundland,  in  a  bay  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  of  Conception,  which  it  still  retains.  He 
then  visited  all  the  eastern  shore  of  that  great  island.  Other 
discoveries  are  attributed  to  him  in  the  adjacent  continent, 
where  ancient  maps  lay  down  Terra  Corterealia.  Accustomed 
to  milder  climates,  with  his  mind  filled  with  the  idea  of  the 
riches  of  Africa  and  the  Indies,  he  was  soon  disgusted  with  a 
land  in  which  naught  was  to  be  seen  but  frightful  rocks  cov- 
ered with  snow,  frozen  rivers  and  sea,  unfitted  for  the  estab- 
lislimeiit  of  trade,  except  in  a  fish  which  had  not  yet  been 
appreciated,  and  was  even  apparently  unknown.  So  he  sailed 
away  for  Portugal  again,  but  was  lost  on  tho  way.  Champlain 
pretends  that  Cortereal  made  two  voyages  to  Newfoundland, 
and  perished  in  the  second,  where  or  how  was  unknown.  He 
adds  that  Michael  de  Cortereal,  his  brother,  seeking  to  prose- 
cute his  enterprise,  met  the  same  fate. 


M 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


Onlfof 
ar«b». 


IslaofJuan 
ds  Nov*. 


IJOl. 

lu  the  beginning  of  Jatiuaiy,  in  this  year,  Roderic  de  Bas- 
tidas,  a  Spaniard,  accompanied  by  John  de  la  Cosa,  of  whom  I 
have  already  spoken,  sailed  from  Cadiz  to  make  new  discover- 
ies, and  after  passing  the  Gulf  of  Maracaibo,  discovered  m&re 
than  a  hundred  leagues  of  coast  beyond  Cape  de  la  Vela,  the 
limit  of  Ojeda's  discoveries  ;  he  entered  the  Gulf  of  Uraba,  and 
pushed  on  to  the  site  of  the  future  city  of  Carthagena.  It  is  not 
very  certain  that  he  gave  the  bay,  as  some  believe,  the  name 
of  Carthagena,  which  it  still  bears. 

At  the  same  time  John  de  Nova  sailed  from  Lisbon  on  a 
third  voyage  to  the  Indies,  and  on  his  way  discovered,  at 
twenty  degrees  north,  an  island,  which  he  called  Conception. 
Having  then  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  he  discovered 
another  island,  at  about  seven  or  eight  degrees  south,  and 
gave  it  bis  name,  which  it  still  bears. 


Mud  or  SL 
Helen  t. 


1502. 

John  de  Nova,  returning  from  the  Indies,  discovered  the 
famous  island  of  St.  Helena,  to  which  he  gave  its  name. 
Some  maps  lay  down  a  second  of  the  same  name,  under  the 
same  parallel,  and  far  more  to  the  cast,  according  to  them 
recently  discovered  ;  but  the  ablest  navigators  believe  it 
fabulous. 
Meiupore.  lu  March  of  the  same  year,  Vasco  de  Gama,  who  made  the 
first  voyage  by  sea  to  India,  sailed  on  a  fourth.  On  arriving 
at  Cochin,  he  received  ambassadors  from  the  Christians  of 
Meliapore,  who  asked  to  be  taken  under  the  protection  of  the 
kings  of  Portugal. 

In  August,  Christopher  Columbus  discovered  the  Cape  and 
Gulf  of  Honduras. 

On  the  12th  of  September  he  discovered  another  cape,  which 
he  named  Gracias  k  Dios,  and,  on  the  2d  of  November,  a  port 
which  he  called  Puerto  Bello,  commonly  called  Porto  Hello. 
He  then  ran  into  some  other  ports  of  tlie  same  coast,  some  of 
'^'h'ch  have  since  changed  the  names  he  gave  them. 


Hondnru, 


Porto  Bello. 


CHRONOLOaiCAL  TABLES. 


25 


ll 


»S03- 

On  the  6th  of  January  following  he  entered  a  river,  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  of  Belen,  in  memory  of  the  entrance  of  the 
Wise  Men  into  Bethlehem  on  that  day.  Thence  he  passed  into 
tliat  of  Veragua,  which  is  only  one  league  oflF,  where  he  found 
gold  mines.  The  province  of  Veragua  was  subsequently  erected 
into  a  duchy,  in  favor  of  Louis  Columbus,  a  grandson  of  Chris- 
topher, and  this  duchy  has  descended  in  the  female  line,  first  to 
the  house  of  Braganza,  and  lastly  to  that  of  Liria-Barwich. 

The  same  year  Alphonsus  de  Albuquerque,  surnamed  the 
Great ;  Francis  de  Albuquerque,  his  brother  ;  and  Anthony  de 
Saldanha,  each  sailed  with  a  squadron  on  a  fourth  voyage  to 
the  Indies.  In  this  voyage  Diego  Fernandez  Pereyra,  who 
commanded  one  of  the  vessels  of  Saldanha's  squadron,  discov- 
ered the  island  of  Socotora.  Alphonsus  de  Albuquerque  him- 
self anchored  at  Cape  Ouardafu,  the  easternmost  in  Africa,  and 
having  arrived  in  India,  built  on  Cochim  Island  a  fortress,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  Santiago. 


Veragua. 


Boeolora. 
Qurdifn. 


1504. 

Basque,  Norman,  and  Breton  fishermen  then,  and  for  some  erest  Bwk 
time  previous,  had  taken  cod  on  the  Great  Bank  of  Newfound-      imu. 
land,  and  on  the  shores  of  the  island,  of  the  neighboring  conti- 
nent, and  of  the  whole  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.    It  is  not  known 
at  what  precise  time  they  began  to  frequent  these  seas,  nor 
when  the  great  bank  was  discovered. 

1505. 

Peter  de  ASaya,  a  Portuguese,  being  in  the  kingdom  of  Sofala  Mooomoupc 
this  year,  obtained  the  earliest  information  of  the  empire  of 
Monomotapa,  in  Africa. 

This  same  year,  a  mercantile  company  at  Rouen  fitted  out 
several  vessels  to  go  to  the  East  Indies,  and  gave  the  command 
to  the  Sieur  Binet  Paulmier  de  Gonneville.  This  captain,  hav- 
ing reached  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  was  driven  far  towards 
the  south  pole  by  the  currents,  and  by  the  tempests  of  that 
stormy  sea.  He  discovered  a  very  fine  country,  whose  inhabit- 
ants received  him  with  respect  and  admiration.     According  to 


'II' 


i^ 


m 


mSTORT  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


Uonomotapt.  tlie  relation  of  this  voyage,  these  people  are  mild,  sociable,  and 
well  made.  Qonneville  took  to  France  the  sou  of  one  of  their 
kings,  under  a  promise  to  restore  him  in  twenty  moons.  But 
the  civil  wars  prevented  its  fulfilment ;  and  not  to  leave  unpro- 
tected a  young  man  confided  to  him  so  graciously,  he  made  him 
his  son-in-law  and  heir.  The  author  of  the  "  Voyage  dans  les 
Terrf's  Australes"  was  the  issue  of  the  marriage  of  Qonneville's 
daughter  with  this  stranger. 


Cmiiik 


UkldlTM, 

OeyloD. 


ii 


Madkguew. 
ItiM  of 
Trtotan 

d'AouDb*. 


VuetUn. 


1506. 

This  year,  John  Denis,  of  Honfleur,  published  a  map  of  the 
coast  of  Newfoi.ndK;nd  and  its  neighborhood. 

The  same  year,  Lawrence  de  Almeyda,  son  of  the  viceroy  of 
the  Indies,  going  with  orders  to  explore  the  Maldives,  first 
discovered  Ceylon.  It  is  pretended  that  he  then  discovered  the 
Maldives,  which  is  much  more  probable  than  what  they  add — 
namely,  that  he  discovered  the  island  of  Madagascar  that  ^-ame 
year,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  St.  Lawrence.  For  it  seems 
certain  that  this  young  noble  did  not  leave  India  after  discov- 
ering Ceylon. 

Some  pretend  that  the  island  of  Madagascar  was  discovered 
in  1505,  but  they  do  not  say  by  whom.  It  is  certain  that 
towards  the  close  of  the  year  1506,  Tristan  d'Acunha,  a  Portu- 
guese, on  the  report  of  Rui  Peroryra,  one  of  his  captains,  that 
he  bad  touched  at  Madagascar,  and  that  pepper  was  found 
there,  sailed  there  in  person.  Marco  Polo,  of  Venice,  spoke  of 
Madagascar,  which  the  Chinese  knew  long  before  the  Euro- 
peans. It  is  even  asserted  that  they  sent  colonists  there. 
Many  believe  this  to  be  the  Cerna  of  Pliny,  and  the  Marauthias 
of  Ptolemy.  When  Tristan  d'Acunha  went  to  Madagascar,  he 
commanded  the  fifth  fleet  which  the  king  of  Portugal  sent  to 
the  Indies.  Before  doubling  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  he  discov- 
ered the  islands  which  still  bear  his  name. 

The  same  year,  John  Diaz  de  Soils  and  Vincenl,  Yanez  Pinzon 
penetrated  to  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Honduras,  and  named  it 
Nativity  Bay.  They  then  explored  a  part  of  Yucatan,  of  which 
Christopher  Columbus  had  had  some  knowledge  when  he  dis- 
covered the  Bay  of  Honduras,  but  they  only  coasted  along  in 
sight  of  land. 


I 


I 


I 


I 


I 


I 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


1508. 


27 


Don  Diego  Lopez  de  Siqueyra  discovered  the  island  of  Su- 
matra, quite  commonly  believed  to  be  the  ancient  Taprobana. 
Thence  he  passed  to  Malacca.  It  is  pretended  that  he  also 
discovered  Cape  Guardafu  ;  perhaps  he  obtained  a  more  exact 
knowledge  than  Alphonsus  Albuquerque  had  done. 

The  same  year,  a  Canada  Indian  was  seen  in  France,  taken 
to  that  country  by  Thomas  Aubert,  a  Dieppe  pilot. 


Samatra. 


Canada, 


1509. 

John  Diaj  de  Solis  a'ld  Vincent  Yanez  Finzon  cross  the  equa-      Bmii. 
lor,  coast  along  Brazil,  and  erect  everywhere  marks  of  their 
taking  possession  for  the  crown  of  Castile. 

The  same  year,  John  de  Esquibel  made  a  settlement  in  Ja     jamaio* 
maica,  by  the  orders  and  in  the  name  of  the  Admiral  of  the 
Indies,  Don  Diego  Colon,  eldest  son  and  successor  of  Christo- 
pher Columbus. 


Qot. 


laslik 

Caatilla  de 

Oro. 


1510. 

On  the  16th  of  February,  in  this  year,  the  great  Albuquerque 
took  the  city  of  Goa.  It  was  twice  retaken  by  the  Hindoos, 
but  always  recaptured  by  the  Portuguese,  who  made  it  the  cap- 
ital of  their  empire  in  India. 

The  same  year  John  Ponce  de  Leon,  a  Spaniard,  conquered  Porto  bioo. 
the  island  of  Porto  Rico,  by  order  of  Don  Diego  Colon. 

The  same  year  Alphonsus  de  Ojeda  and  Diego  de  Nicuessa  NewAnda- 
sailed  from  Hispaniola  to  settle,  the  latter  Castilla  de  Oro,  the 
former.  New  Andalusia,  which  had  been  conceded  to  them  on 
that  condition,  and  of  which  they  had  been  named  governors. 
New  Andalusia  was  to  begin  at  Cape  de  la  Vela  ;  Castilla  de 
Oro  was  to  extend  to  Cape  Garcias  a  Dios.     The  middle  of  the 
Gulf  of  Uraba  was  to  be  the  boundary  between  them.     The 
same  year  Ojeda   built  the  city  of  San  Sebastian  de  Buena  Ban  Sebastian 
Vista  ;  Nicuessa  began  a  small  settlement  at  Nombre  de  Dios.      Vuii"* 
Some  time  after,  the  Bachelor  Enciso,  one  of  Ojeda's  captains, 
founded  the  old  city  of  Santa  Maria,  on  the  banks  of  the  Darieu,  sanu  Maria, 
which  empties  into  the  Gulf  of  Uraba.    This  city,  th   first  on 
the  continent  of  America  honored  with  the  title  of  an  Episcopal 


I! 


m 


i; 


28 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PBANCR 


stnta  iUrit.  city,  existed  only  nine  years,  at  the  end  of  which  the  inhabit 
ants  and  the  Episcopal  See  were  transferred  to  Panama.  Ojeda 
and  Nicuesua  did  not  succeed  in  their  colonization,  and  the 
name  of  Castilla  de  Oro  disappears  with  the  latter,  and  geog- 
raphers err  in  giving  it  in  their  maps.  That  of  New  Andalu- 
sia has  been  transferred,  by  some  geographers  at  least,  towards 
the  coast  of  Gumana. 


1511, 


Onbc 


Halaooa. 


Jtri. 

Amboynt. 


Diego  Velasquez  took  possession  of  the  island  of  Cuba  in  the 
name  of  Admiral  Don  Diego  Oolon,  who  invested  him  with  the 
government. 

In  the  month  of  August  of  this  same  year  the  great  Albu- 
querque made  himself  master  of  Malacca,  and  there  received 
the  ambassadors  of  the  kii^  of  Siam,  who  came  to  congratu- 
late him  on  that  conquest. 

After  this  siege,  Francisco  Serrano  and  Diego  de  Abreu,  who 
had  served  in  it  with  distinction,  were  sent  to  discover  the  Mo- 
luccas. Having  separated,  Abreu  first  lauded  in  Java,  then 
discovered  the  island  of  Amboyna,  which  is  surrounded  by 
other  little  islands  called  the  Amboynas.  He  then  passed  to 
the  isles  of  Banda,  but  went  no  further.  Serrano  made  his 
UoiaocM.  way  to  Temate.  The  Moluccas  are  divided  into  the  Great  and 
Little.  The  latter  are  the  Moluccas  proper  ;  the  chief  islands 
are  Temate,  Tidor  or  Tadura,  Molir,  Machim,  and  Bachian. 
The  Great  Moluccas  are  Gilolo,  or  Isle  Moru,  called  also  by  the 
Portuguese  Patochine  ;  the  Little  Moluccas,  which  lie  near  it, 
are  called  on  the  maps  Archipelago  del  Moro,  The  other  great 
Moluccas  are  Amboyna,  Banda,  Timor,  and  Celebes,  or  Macas- 
sar, so  called  from  the  two  kingdoms  which  divide  it. 


i 


1512. 

ncf<(U  John  i:'once  de  Leon,  the  conqueror  of  Porto  Rico,  seeking  a 
fountain  of  youth  which  had  been  represented  to  him  as  exist- 
ing on  the  island  of  Bimini,  one  of  the  Bahamas,  found  himself 
by  chance  in  sight  of  a  great  land.  He  disembarked  and  called 
it  Florida,  some  say  because  it  was  in  Easter-week  ;  according 
t(  otherb,  because  he  found  the  fields  enamolled  with  flowers. 
He  also  discovered  several  small  islands,  which  he  called  The 


CHRONOLOaiCAL  TABLES. 


20 


Martyrs.  They  are  at  the  mouth  of  the  New  Bahama  Channel,  TheUwtjni 
and  skirt  the  western  part  of  the  Cape  of  Florida.  The  Ba- 
hama Channel  is  the  discharge  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  into  the 
Atlantic,  and  derives  its  name  from  one  of  the  Lucayan  Islands. 
No  river  has  a  current  as  strong  as  that  of  this  channel.  The 
island  of  Bahama  forms  two  channels.  That  to  the  east  was 
first  used,  and  is  called  the  old  channel ;  the  current  is  not  so 
strong,  but  it  is  dangerous  from  the  reefs  that  abound.  This 
has  caused  it  to  be  abandoned. 


On  the  25th  of  September,  Yasco  Nufiez  de  Balboa,  who  com-  The  Psoiao. 
manded  at  old  Santa  Maria  de  Darien,  discovered  the  Pacific. 
He  took  possession  on  the  29th,  in  the  name  of  Castile,  march- 
ing in  waist  high,  with  his  shield  in  one  hand  and  his  sword  in 
the  other.  On  the  same  day  he  gave  the  name  of  St.  Michael, 
whose  feast  it  was,  to  a  gulf  made  by  the  Pacific  at  that  point. 
He  discovered  also  several  islands  where  pearls  were  taken, 
and  called  them  Pearl  Islands.  He  had  some  time  previously  pmtI  uandt. 
obtained  information  about  Peru.  Returning  to  Santa  Maria, 
he  explored  all  the  country  between  that  city  and  the  Pacific. 


OalfofSt 
MIobMl. 


1514. 

An  ambassador  from  David,  emperor  of  the  Abyssinians,    Abminun 


arrived  at  Lisbon. 

The  same  year,  Don  Pedrarias,  or  Pedro  Arias  Davila,  gov- 
ernor of  the  province  of  Darien,  began  settlements  iri  the . 
provinces  of  Santa  Maria  and  Cartagena,  of  which  he  discov- 
ered the  greatest  part. 


Ambaaaador 
■t  Lisbon. 


il 


1515. 

Alonzo  Perez  de  la  Rua,  a  Spaniard,  began  the  discovery  of 
Peru. 

The  same  year,  Diego  de  Albitez,  a  Spaniard,  discovered 
Chagres  River,  which  rises  very  near  the  Pacific,  is  navigable 
for  a  considerable  distance  above  the  mouth,  and  traverses  in  a 
serpentine  course  most  of  the  isthmus  of  Panama. 


Ptra. 


ObigrM 


if-; 


i. 


m 


HWTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


i.; 


iSi6. 

N»t»,  Bret       The  licentiate  Espinosa  founds  the  city  of  Nata  in  the  prov- 
onthePMiBo.  iDce  of  Vcragua.     It  18  the  first  Spanish  city  on  the  Pacific. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  same  year,  John  Diaz  do  Solis,  already 
mentioned,  entered  a  river  in  Brazil,  which  he  called  Rio  Ge- 
nero,  or  Enero,  River  of  January.  Tne  Portuguese,  the  actual 
Rioj«n«ira  masters  of  all  that  great  country,  call  it  Rio  tianerio.  Diaz 
next  discovered  a  much  greater  river,  which  he  called  after 
himself,  Rio  de  Solis,  and  which  was  subsequently  named  Rio 
de  la  Pl8.ta,  Landing  here,  he  was  killed  by  the  Indians.  Rio 
de  la  Plata  is  properly  only  a  long  bay,  formed  by  the  conflu- 
ence of  the  Parana  and  Uraguay.  The  Parana,  two  hundred 
leagues  above,  receives  the  Paraguay. 


Tucatun. 
CarnpeuAy. 


rho  Portn- 
gn«M  In 
Chlnt. 

CktiMT. 

Ctmbam. 


1517. 

On  the  8th  of  February,  Francis  Fernandez  de  Cordova  em- 
barked at  Havana,  by  order  of  Diego  Velasquez,  governor  of 
Cuba.  He  next  discovered  .all  the  coast  of  Yucatan  from  Capo 
de  Catoche  to  Potonchan.  In  this  intervb.1,  he  found  a  town 
called  Kimpech,  where  the  city  of  Campeachy  was  afterwards 
built. 

Ill  the  month  of  August,  of  this  same  year,  Ferdinand  de 
Andrada,  a  Portuguese,  reached  China.  It  is  the  first  voyage 
made  by  the  Portuguese  to  that  great  empire,  of  \*hich  the  more 
western  and  northern  part  formerly  bore  the  name  of  Cathay. 
Cambalu,  capital  of  Cathay,  is  the  same  as  Pekin. 


1518. 

New  Spain.  Francisco  Fernandez  de  Cordova  having  r  i  on  his  return 
from  Yucatan,  John  de  Grijalva  was  sent  by  Velasquez  to 
continue  his  discoveries.  He  first  discovered  the  island  of 
Coznmel,  and  named  it  the  island  of  Santa  Cruz  ;  then  the  river 
Tabasco,  io  which  he  gave  his  name  ;  then  the  island  or  key  of 
Sacrificios,  so  called  because  lie  found  men  there  who  had  just 
been  sacrificed  to  the  idols.  A  little  further  on,  he  discovered 
the  island  of  Ulua,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  San  Juan, 
and  whicli  is  still  called  the  ishuid  of  San  Juan  de  Ulua.  It 
is  opposite  Vera  Cruz,  of  which   it  forms  the  port.      He  then 


CHRONOLOaiCAL  TABLES. 


SI 


advanced  to  the  province  of  Panuco,  and  gave  all  these  new  New8p»in. 
discoveries  the  name  of  New  Spain 

The  same  year,  Don  Pedrarias  Davila  sent  the  licentiate  Panimi. 
Diego  de  Espinoza  to  Panama  to  found  a  city  there,  or  rather 
to  remove  to  it  tiie  inhabitants  and  materials  of  Santa  Maria 
la  Antigua  of  Darien.  The  city  of  Panama  has  since  changed 
its  place,  having  been  withdrawn  a  little  to  the  west.  The 
bishop  assumes  the  title  of  Primate  of  Terrafirma,  although  a 
suffragan  of  Lima,  because  Santa  Maria  la  Antigua,  which 
Panama  has  replaced,  was  the  first  Episcopal  See  on  the  main- 
land of  the  New  World.  This  does  not  prevent  the  Archbishop 
of  San  Domingo,  in  Hispaniola,  whose  See  is  still  more  ancient, 
from  being  acknowledged  as  primate  of  all  Spanish  America. 

1519. 

On  the  10th  of  February  of  that  year,  Hernan  Oortez  sailed  Ter«  cnu. 
from  Havana  to  conquer  New  Spain.  He  landed  within  San 
Juan  de  Ulua,  and  founded  on  the  mainland  a  city,  which  he 
called  Villa  Rica  de  la  Vera  Cruz,  because  be  arrived  there  on 
Good  Friday.  This  is  now  called  Old  Vera  Cruz.  The  new 
city  is  three  leagues  further  east,  opposite  the  island  of  San 
Juan  de  Ulua.  Having  the  same  year  reached  Mexico,  he  sent 
Diego  de  Ordas  to  examine  the  volcano  of  Popocotapec,  in  the 
province  of  Tlascala. 


ijzo, 
Ferdinand  de  Maghaillans,  better  known  under  the  name  of  Discovery  of 

HBgellaii*8 

Magellan,  a  Portuguese  captain  who  had  served  at  the  siege  of  -Ptraiu. 
Malacca  under  the  great  Albuquerque,  and  who  afterwards  en-  *'"ego 
tered  the  service  of  the  king  of  Spain,  in  consequence  of  some 
slights  which  he  had  received  from  the  Portuguese  court,  pro- 
posed to  the  Catholic  monarch  the  conquest  of  the  Moluccas, 
and  his  oflFer  was  accepted.  Some  vessels  having  been  as- 
signed to  him,  he  set  sail  on  the  10th  of  August,  1519.  In 
May  of  the  ensuing  year,  he  discovered  an  island  which  he 
called  Isla  de  los  Tuberones  (Seals),  the  island  of  St.  Peter, 
the  island  of  Cocos,  \  ^lich  he  called  the  Unfortunate  Islands, 
because  he  found  them  deserted  and  uncultivated.  On  arriv- 
ing at  the  entrance  of  the  famous  strait  which  bears  his  name, 


mSTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


Trrra  del 
Fnefo. 


H«iloan 
mlnn. 


Florida. 


he  pave  the  name  of  Cape  of  the  Virginfl  to  the  first  land  that 
he  (liHcovered,  bccauHc  he  saw  it  on  St.  Ursula's  Day.  He  en- 
tered the  straits  on  the  7th  of  November,  and  on  the  27th  ho 
fcund  himself  in  the  South  Sea,  which  he  called  the  Pacific. 
The  name  Terra  del  Fnego,  given  to  the  country  to  the  south  of 
the  straits,  seems  to  be  more  modern.  It  arose,  we  are  told, 
from  a  number  of  fires  seen  there  by  navigators.  It  was,  per- 
haps, lightning,  the  whole  region  being  subject  to  great  thunder- 
storms, arising  from  the  vapors  drawn  by  the  sun  from  the 
two  oceans  ;  and  doubtless,  too,  in  consequence  of  the  nature 
of  the  soil.  From  the  narratives  of  Hollanders  who  have  sailed 
in  that  quarter,  it  would  seem  that  it  is  only  a  collection  of 
islands,  with  ship-channels  between  them. 

The  same  year  Hernan  Cortez  sent  Gonzalo  de  Umbria  to 
explore  the  southern  coast  of  New  Spain,  and  Francisco  Fi- 
zarro,  with  Diego  de  Ordas,  to  visit  the  northern.  At  the  same 
time  mines  were  discovered  in  the  country,  and  Montezuma, 
emperor  of  Mexico,  acknowledged  himself  a  vassal  of  the  king 
of  Spain,  and  sent  him  a  tribute. 

The  licentiate,  Luke  Vasquez  de  Ayllon,  this  same  year  un- 
dertook to  continue  the  exploration  of  Florida  ;  he  discovered, 
in  fact.  Cape  St.  Helena  and  the  province  of  Chicora.  This 
Cape  St.  Helena  is  at  the  mouth  of  a  pretty  large  river,  after- 
wards called  the  Jordan. 


Ltdronei. 
C«ba. 
Maun. 


1521. 

Discovery  of  the  Ladrone  Islands  by  Magellan.  He  also 
called  them  the  Archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus.  These  islands  are 
now  called  the  Mariane  Islands.  Magellan  then  discovered  the 
island  of  Cebu,  and  subsequently  Matan,  where  he  was  killed. 
After  his  death  Gonzalo  Gomez  de  Espinosa  was  recognized  as 
commander  of  the  fleet.  He  retained  of  his  ships  only  the 
Trinidad  and  Vitoria,  and  having  fallen  in  with  a  Chinese  junk 
bound  to  the  Moluccas,  took  a  pilot  aboard,  who  carried  him  to 
Tidor,  which  he  reached  on  the  8th  of  November,  0;,  according 
to  Osorio,  towards  the  end  of  October.  Thence  he  returned  to 
Spain,  by  way  of  India,  in  the  Vitoria.  It  is  the  first  vessel 
that  circumnavigated  the  globe,  and  is  still  preserved  at 
Seville. 


I 


CHRONOLOaiCAL  TABLES. 


ThiH  same  vcar  Hcrnan  Uortez  made  himself  master  of  Mex-     Uciioo. 
ico,  and  the  conquest  of  thai  capital  put  an  end  to  the  empire 
of  the  Mexicans. 

i;22. 

Parillas,  a  soldier  of  the  army  of  Hernan  Cortez,  discovers  Mecbototn. 
the  province  of  Mechoacan.     This  discovery  was  followed  the      "'*•"*■ 
same  year  by  several  others  in  New  Spain,  and  in  particular 
by  that  of  Nicaragua.     Gil  Gonzalez  Davila  entered  it  some 
time  before  through  the  province  of  Darien,  and  discovev^d  the 
canton  of  Nicoya. 

The  same  year  the  body  of  the  apostle  St.  Thomas  was  fuund   Bt  Thomt. 
at  Meliaporo,  and  transported  to  Goa  by  order  of  Edward  de 
Menesez,  but  this  did  not  prevent  the  rebuilding  of  Meliapore, 
under  the  name  of  St.  Thom6. 


■' 


1523. 
John  Verazani,  a  Florentine,  who  had  entered  the  service  of  Pint  rojun 

■n  •      -r     L.  -n  1  •  n  Of  Vertiadl. 

Francis  I.,  king  ot  France,  this  year  made  a  first  voyage  to 
North  America.  Few  authors  have  spoken  of  this  expedition, 
which  is  known  only  by  a  letter  of  Verazani  himself  to  the 
king,  dated  Dieppe,  July  8th,  in  which  he  supposes  his  majesty 
informed  of  the  success  of  this  first  attempt.  It  may  well  be, 
however,  that  this  was  less  an  attempt  to  make  discoveries 
than  to  make  cruises  against  the  Spaniards,  for  we  know  that 
he  made  more  than  one. 


1524. 

Verazani  set  out  again  the  next  year  to  begin  or  continue  his 
discoveries.  In  the  month  of  March  be  came  in  sight  of  the 
land  of  Florida.  He  then  made  fifty  leagues  south,  and  found 
himself  at  34°  N.  He  turned  northward,  and  ranged  the  whole 
coast  to  an  island  discovered  by  the  Bretons,  and  lying,  accord- 
ing to  him,  at  50°  N.  If  this  was  Cape  Breton,  now  Isle  Roy- 
ale,  he  was  mistaken  in  his  estimate  ;  but  it  may  well  be  that 
he  landed  on  Newfoundland,  where  the  Bretons  had  been  fish* 
ing  for  a  number  of  years. 

In  the  month  of  November,   this  year,   Francisco  Pizarro 

sailed  from  Panama  to  complete  the  discovery,  and  attempt 

the  conquest  of  Peru. 
Vol.  I— 3 


Second 
voyage. 


Pern. 


I 


! 


ii 


i 


M 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCB. 


t     * 

i. 


\^} 


Inliinil  of  St. 
Mtttbew. 


Third  Tojig*  Tliird  voyage  of  Verazani.  His  aiiccoss  ia  unknown,  as  ho 
ppiiabed  on  it  :  how,  ia  not  known.  A  modern  historian,  Don 
Andrea  Gonzalea  de  Barcia,  is  aurely  miataken  in  aaying,  in  his 
Ensayo  Cronologico  para  la  Hii^toria  de  la  Florida,  p.  82,  that 
Verazani  was  taken  by  tiie  Spaniards  near  tlie  Canaries,  in 
1524,  and  hung  as  a  pirate.  If  this  misfortune  befell  him,  it 
could  only  be  'i  1525,  on  his  return  from  his  third  voyage. 

The  same  year  Don  Oarcias  de  Loysa,  a  Spaniard,  dis- 
covered the  island  of  St.  Matthew,  to  the  west  of  Annobon. 
An  inscription  is  said  to  have  been  found  there  on  a  tree, 
stating  that  the  Portuguese  had  landed  there  eighty-seven 
years  before. 

Antonio  de  Britto  and  Garciaa  Henriques,  Portuguese,  who 
commanded  on  the  Moluccas,  were  sent  this  year  to  discover 
the  island  of  Celebes  or  Macassar.  Those  intrusted  with  this 
commiasion,  in  their  endeavor,  after  fulfilling  it,  to  regain  the 
Moluccas,  were  driven  off  by  the  wind,  and  found  themselves  in 
sight  of  several  islands,  where  they  could  not  land,  and  called 
them  Mey  Islands.. 

Diego  de  Almagro  also  sailed  the  same  year  from  Panama  to 
join  Pizarro,  his  associate  in  the  conquest  of  Peru. 


MacMatr. 

Mej  Isluidi. 


Pwu. 


Parana, 
Paraguajr, 


1526. 

Sebastian  Gabot,  or  Gabato,  a  Venetian,  who  had  left  the 
service  of  the  king  of  England  for  that  of  the  Catholic  king, 
this  year  entered  the  Rio  de  Solis,  which  he  named  Rio  de  la 
Plata.  He  ascended  the  Parana,  and  even  the  Paraguay.  The 
name  of  Silver  River  was  given  to  this  great  stream  from  the 
fact  that  on  the  banks  of  the  Paraguay  be  found  much  silver  in 
the  hands  of  some  Indians  :  he  believed  this  silver  to  be  de- 
rived from  that  country,  whereas  the  Indians  had  taken  it  from 
Eome  Portuguese  of  Brazil,  returning  from  the  province  of  loa 
Charcas,  on  the  frontier  of  Peru.  I  have  already  noted  that  the 
Rio  de  la  Plata  proper  is  only  the  bay  where  the  Parana, 
already  united  with  the  Paraguay,  receives  also  the  great  river 
Uruguay 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


85 


TumUd, 


Martin  Yniguoz  (lo  Corquizano,  a  Spaniun!,  tliis  Hamo  year    Min< 

discovered  the  island  Mindanao.    Otiier  Spaniards  who,  in  1521, 

were  going  to  the   Moluccas,  had  already  landed  there,  but 

made  no  report. 

1527. 

Francis  de  Montejo,  a  Spaniard,  appointed  governor  of  Yu 
catan,  sailed  this  same  year  to  reduce  it,  and  found  a  colony 
there.  All  this  was  accomplished  before  the  close  of  the  en- 
suing year. 

This  same  year,  or  a  short  time  before,  John  Bermudez,  a    B«miuiii. 
Spaniard,  discovered  a  little  island  to  which  he  gave  his  name. 
It  is  commonly  written  la  Vermude  in  French,  although  some- 
times Bermude. 

This  same  year  Pizarro,  after  exploring  about  two  hundred 
leagues  of  the  Peruvian  coast,  down  to  the  port  of  Santa,  be- 
yond the  district  of  Quito,  returned  to  Panama. 

Bantam,  in  the  island  of  Java,  is  conquered  by  Pedro  Mas- 
carenhas.  This  city  was  soon  after  restored  to  its  king,  on 
condition  of  his  paying  tribute  to  the  king  of  Portugal. 

About  the  same  time,  Edward  Coml,  a  Portuguese,  discov- 
ered the  islands  and  straits  of  Sunda.  This  captain  was  under 
the  orders  of  Francis  Sa,  who  had  embarked  to  make  the  dis- 
covery, but  whose  vessel  was  driven  off  in  a  storm. 


Quito. 


BknUm. 


Btnlts  of 
Sunda. 


1528. 

Expedition  of  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez,  a  Spaniard,  to  Florida.    ApaiMhM 
On  the  5th  of  June,  he  discovered  the  country  of  the  Apalaches. 

The  same  year  Andrew  de  Vidareta,  a  Spaniard,  discovered  Now  Qninea 
New  Guinea,  between  Asia  and  America.  It  is  not  yet  posi- 
tively known  whether  this  country  is  a  continent  or  an  island. 
Yet  some  authors  have  pretended  that  it  was  recently  circum- 
navigated. John  de  Laet  pretends  that  New  Guinea  was 
discovered  in  152t  i;y  Alvaro  de  Saavedra,  who  was  driven 
there  by  a  storm  on  his  way  from  the  Moluccas,  to  which  Cor- 

tez  had  sent  him. 

157.9. 

Discoveries  of  Ambrose  Alfinger,  a  Ger'ian,  in  the  province   VeuMnait. 
of  Venezuela,  which  had  been  granted  by  the  Emperor  Charles 
V.  to  the  Velsers,  rich  Augsburg  merchants. 


■•' 


1:1 


M  i 


1 


80 


BISTORT  OF  NEW  PKANCB. 


Ptro. 


CuloMaa 


CbUpk. 


1530. 

Francisco  Pizarro  embarks  at  Nuinbro  de  Dios  to  continue 
th«)  conqucBt  of  Peru. 

The  same  year  Dun  NuAo  do  Guzman  made  several  dincov- 
iTJeH  in  New  Spain,  on  the  Pacific  Bide.  Christopher  de  OHate, 
one  of  his  captainH,  founds,  by  his  order,  the  city  of  Guadala- 
zara,  in  New  Galicia,  one  of  these  new  discoveries,  and  which 
bears  also  the  name  Xaliscu,  its  principal  province.  Guzman 
was  a  native  of  Guadalaxara,  in  Castile.  At  the  same  time  he 
discovered  the  province  of  Culuacan. 

About  the  same  time  Diego  de  Ordas,  a  Spaniard,  discovered 
the  province  of  Chiapa  in  New  Spain. 


'53»- 

Orinooa  Diego  de  Ordas  soon  after  entered  the  Orinoco,  and  made 
discoveries  ascending  that  river,  which  were  continued  in  the 
years  next  following  by  other  Spanish  captains. 

ciMioik  The  same  year  Don  Nufio  do  Guzman  discovered  the  province 
of  Cinaloa,  in  New  Galicia. 
Ctrthigcn*.  About  the  same  time  Don  Pedro  de  Dercdia,  a  Spaniard, 
built  the  city  of  Carthagena.  He  gave  it  this  name  from  its 
resemblance  in  position  to  Carthagena  in  Spain.  The  place 
was  formerly  called  Calemori.  Ojeda  and  Nicucssa  had  fought 
there  with  the  native  Indians. 


I 


Pera. 


CUHO. 

Aeopaloo. 

Ouada. 


'S33- 
Francis  Pizarro  puts  to  death  Atabualpa,  king  of  Pern,  and 
extinguishes  the  empire  of  the  Incas. 

'534- 

The  next  year  he  enters  and  subdues  the  province  of  Cuzco. 

The  same  year  Hernan  Cortez  has  the  whole  Pacific  coast, 
where  Acapulco  is  situated,  explored. 

The  same  year  Phil-p  de  Chabot,  admiral  of  France,  having 
induced  King  Francis  I.  to  resume  the  plan  of  discoveries 
begun  by  Verazani,  commissioned  Jacques  Cartier,  of  St.  Malo, 
an  able  pilot.  Cartier  embarked  at  St.  Malo,  April  20th,  and 
reached  Cape  Bouavista,  in  Newfoundland,  at  48^  N.,  on  the 


CnRONOIXXJICAL  TABLES. 


10th  of  Muy.  Thon  running  (Wo  IcagucH  S.S.E.,  he  entered 
another  port,  which  ho  named  St.  Catharine.  Sailing  south,  he 
croHRed  the  (^iilf,  and  entered  a  great  bay,  where  he  Buffered 
much  from  heat,  and  called  it  Chalcur«  Bay.  Some  momoirs 
Bay  that  tho  Spaniardn  had  vinitcd  it  before  him,  and  it  haa 
certainly  been  BometimeB  called  Bay  of  tho  Spauiarda.  He 
then  coaHted  along  a  good  part  of  the  gulf,  took  poBsesBion  of 
all  the  countrieB  he  bad  eiplored,  and  returned  to  France. 


Gknail*, 


'53S- 

Francis  Pizarro  founds  the  city  of  Lima  on  Epiphany,  and 
calls  it  Villa  do  Ioh  Reyes.  It  still  bears  the  name  in  public 
acts.     Lima  is  the  name  of  the  valley  where  it  lies. 

Peter  de  Mendoza,  a  Spaniard,  built  tho  city  of  Buenos  Ayrcs, 
on  the  western  bank  of  the  La  Plata.  It  was  also  called  Villa 
do  la  Trinidad.  It  was  twice  abandoned,  and  not  rebuilt,  as  it 
is  at  present,  till  1582. 

The  same  year  Cortez,  embarking  in  person,  discovered  Cali- 
fornia, to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  St.  Philip.  Till  tho  com- 
mencement of  the  present  tntury  it  was  believed  to  be  an 
island. 

On  the  19th  of  May  this  year,  Jacques  Cartier  sailed  from  St. 
Male  to  prosecute  bis  discoveries.  Entering,  on  the  10th  of 
August,  the  gulf  which  ho  had  explored  the  year  before,  he 
named  it  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  memory  of  the  holy  martyr  whose 
feast  is  celebrated  on  that  day.  This  name  was  subsequently 
extended  to  the  river  which  empties  into  the  gulf.  The  name 
Canada,  which  it  bore,  was  that  given  by  the  Indians  to  the 
whole  country. 

On  the  15th  he  discovered,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  a  very 
long  island,  called  by  the  Indians  Natiscotec,  and  he  gave  it 
the  name  of  Assumption  Island.  It  bears  more  commonly  that 
of  Anticosti,  believed  to  come  from  the  English.  Cartier  then 
ascended  the  river,  and  on  the  Ist  of  September,  after  advancing 
ninety  leagues,  found  himself  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay,  a 
great  river  coming  from  the  north.  He  kept  on  up  the  river 
ninety  leagues  more,  and  arrived  at  Hochelaga,  a  great  Indian 
town  built  on  an  island,  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  styled  by 


LliniL 


BuniM 
Ajrna 


Oilironil* 


Cuida, 


I 


111 


\  1^ 


L,  ...._^-.  ,^___™ 


88 


mSTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


New 
Sruidt, 


Ouidt.  him  Mont  Piyal,  now  called  Montreal.  This  name  has  ex- 
tended to  the  whole  island.  No  other  river  is  known  which 
80  lone  retains  so  great  a  width,  or  is  so  far  navigable  for  the 
largest  vessels.  Ships  of  sixty  guns  can  ascend  to  Quebec, 
one  hundred  and  twenty  leagues  from  the  sea,  and  large  barks 
can  go  sixty  leagues  further,  to  the  island  of  Montreal. 

Chui.  Diego  de  Almagro,  one  of  the  conquerors  of  Peru,  discovers 

Chili. 

Sebastian  Belalcazar,  a  Spaniard,  discovers  the  province  of 
Popayan,  which  forms  part  of  New  Granada,  commonly  called 
Nuevo  Reyno.  He  at  the  same  time  discovered  the  source  of 
the  great  river  Magdalena,  the  whole  courae  of  which  was  ex- 
plored some  tinu;  after  by  Don  Fernando  de  Lugo,  admiral  of 
the  Canaries.  This  discovery,  and  that  made  by  the  same  ad- 
miral of  the  rest  of  N«  >v  Granada,  were  not  completed  till  the 
year  following,  153T.  Nicholas  Ferderman,  or  Vredeman,  a 
German,  entered  it  the  previous  year,  through  Coriana,  a  can- 
ton of  the  province  of  Venezuela. 
Pa«gu«y.  John  de  Ayola,  a  Spaniard,  continues  the  exploration  of  the 
Paraguay,  and  the  provinces  lying  on  that  river. 

>S38. 
oiboi».  Father  Mar'i  de  Niza,  a  Spanish  (Italian)  Franciscan,  start- 
ing this  y^.r  from  St.  Michael's  of  Culuacan,  in  New  Galicia, 
discovered  the  kingdom  of  Cibola.  No  great  account  was 
made  of  the  memoirs  of  this  religious,  but  they  led  to  new  dis- 
coveries. 
Fiorii».  On  the  12th  of  May,  in  this  same  year,  Ferdinand  de  Soto 
sailed  from  Havana  to  complete  the  discovery,  and  eflfect  the 
conqusst  of  Florida.  He  acquitted  himself  well  of  the  first  of 
these  two  projects,  but  after  three  years'  wandering,  died  with- 
out conquering  an  inch  of  t-rritory. 
Otiifomi*.  The  same  year  Heruau  Cortez,  setting  out  for  Spain,  dis- 
patched Francis  de  Tello  to  complete  the  discovery  of  Califor- 
nia, almost  all  the  western  shore  of  wliich  that  Spanish  captain 
coasted.  He  then  made  several  other  discoveries  in  tliose 
parts. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


89 


»S39- 

Gonzales  Pizarro,  governor  of  Quito,  the  most  northerly  prov- 
ince of  Peru,  discovered  the  country  of  the  Quixos,  in  the  inte- 
rior of  that  province,  and  then  styled  it  La  Canela.  Following 
up  this  expedition,  Francisco  Orellana,  a  lieutenant  of  Pizarro, 
having  been  sent  to  obtain  provisions,  discovered  a  great  river, 
which  he  descended  to  the  sea,  without  a  thought  of  his  com- 
mander. He  gave  his  naTie  to  this  river,  afterwards  known 
under  the  name  of  Amazon  and  Maragnon. 

Tht  same  year  Francis  Vasquez  Cornero,  or  Comedo  (Co- 
ronado),  a  Spaniard,  sent  by  Don  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  viceroy 
of  New  Spain,  to  continue  the  discoveries  in  California,  discov- 
ered the  kingdoms  of  Cibola  and  Quivira. 


Anuon 
Blver. 


Cibol*. 
Qalvln. 


Peter  de  Valdivia  continues  the  exploration  of  Chili,  and      ohiiu 
made  many  settlements  there. 

This  same  year  John  Ti''-  .da  de  la  Roque,  Seigneur  de     oanoda. 
Roberval,  a  gentleman  of  Picardy,  made  a  settlement  on  the 
island  of  Cape  Breton,  now  Isle  Royale,  and  sent  a  man  named 
Alphonso  to  explore  Canada,  north  of  Labrador  ;  but  we  have 
no  details  of  this  voyage. 

Anthony  de  Faria  y  Sousa,  a  Portuguese,  at  the  same  time 
discovered  the  kingdoms  uf  Camboya  (Cambodia)  and  Champea, 
the  isle  of  Poulocondor,  those  of  Lequios  and  Hainan,  with  some 
smaller  ones,  called  Puertas  de  Liampo. 

In  fine,  it  was  the  same  year  that  Ruy  Lopez  de  Villalobos,  a 
Spaniard,  discovered  the  Luzon  islands,  already  in  part  discov- 
ered by  Magellan.  He  gave  the  whole  Archipelago  the  name 
of  Philippines,  in  honor  of  the  Prince  of  Spain,  afterwards 
Philip  II. 

1542. 

On  the  6th  of  May,  this  year,  St.  Francis  Xavier  arrived  at  j»p»n. 
Goa,  and  at  the  same  time  was  discovered  Japan,  of  which  he 
was  to  be  the  first  apostle.  This  discovery  was  made  in  the 
same  year,  at  two  difierent  points.  Ferdinand  Mendes  Pinto, 
Diego  Zeimotto,  and  Christopher  Borello,  at  one  place,  and  An- 
tonio Mota,  Francisco  Zimotto,  and  Antonio  Pexota  at  another, 


Otmboy*. 

Cbimpea. 
Leqaloa 
lalandi. 
Hainan. 


Ffaillppinot. 


S3f; 


40 


fflSTOBY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


If 


all  Portuguese,  reached  it,  without  any  knowledge  of  each 
other  ;  the  ''oimm',  from  Macao,  landed  at  the  island  of  Tanux- 
ima,  whence  Pinto  penetrated  to  the  kingdom  of  Bungo.  The 
latter,  starting  from  the  island  of  Macassar,  were  driven  by  a 
storm  into  the  port  uf  Cangoxima,  in  the  kingdom  of  Saxnma. 
None  of  them  set  down  the  day  or  month  of  their  arrival  ;  but 
from  Pinto's  narrative  he  evidently  reached  Japan  in  May. 
These  are  the  same  islands  mentioned  by  Maroo  Polo,  of  Venice, 
under  the  name  uf  Zipangu. 

Settlements  and  new  discoveries  in  the  new  kingdom  of 
Granada  by  Ferdinand  Perez  de  Quesada. 

The  same  year  Alvar  Nufiez  Oabesa  de  Vaca  founded  for  the 
second  time  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres  :  ascended  the  Parana 
and  Paraguay,  and  made  some  settlements  in  those  prov- 
inces. 

About  the  same  time  John  Ruys  Gabrillc,  a  Portuguese, 
in  the  service  of  Charles  V.,  made  some  discoveries  on  t'je 
coast  of  California.  He  reached  a  cape  at  44"  N,  "ybiiih 
he  named  Mendocino,  in  honor  of  Don  Antonio  de  Miiudo^ia, 
viceroy  of  New  Spain.  Our  French  maps  call  it  Cap  Mea- 
doce. 
Tuoumu.       Discovery  of  Tucuman  by  Diego  de  Rojas,  a  Spaniard. 


New 
Qnkniida, 


Puragaay. 


Cip«  HandO' 
oino. 


)    i 


Florid*. 
MiMlaslppL 


1543- 

Luis  de  Moscoso  de  Alvarado,  successor  to  Ferdinand  de 
Soto,  who  died  at  the  mouth  of  the  Red  liver,  in  the  Micissipi, 
and  whose  body  was  cast  into  that  river,  descended  it  to  the 
sea.  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  in  his  History  of  the  Conquest  of 
Florida,  gives  this  river  the  name  of  Cucagua,  and  the  Span- 
iards of  Florida  even  now  call  it  La  Palizada. 


1S4S- 
Fotori.         The  mines  of  Potosi  in  this  year  discovered  by  Villaroel,  a 
Spaniard,  who  began  this  year  to  work  them. 


1546. 

chiiippinM.       Miguol  Lopez  de  Lagaspi,  a  Biscayan,  began  this  year  to 
make  settlements  in  the  Philippines. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


m 


1548. 

NubIo  de  Chavez,  a  Spaniard,  discovers  several  provinces  BMUOnud* 
west  of  the  La  Plata  and  Paraguay,  and  founds  the  first  city  of 
Santa  Cruz  de  la  Sierra.  It  was  afterwards  removed  more 
northward,  and  became  the  capital  of  one  of  the  four  govern- 
ments into  which  Paraguay  is  divided.  The  other  three  are, 
Tucuman,  on  the  south  ;  Assumption  of  Paraguay,  on  the  east ; 
and  Rio  de  la  Plata,  south  of  this  last. 

»S49- 

In  this  year  settlements  were  begun  in  Tucuman,  and  the   Tuonman. 
neighboring  provinces. 

Juan  de  Villagas,  a  Spaniard,  governor  of  the  province  of      New 
Venezuela  for  the  Velsers,  discovers  all  the  territory  where      **""*" 
New  Segovia  was  afterwards  built. 


>SS3- 

First  attempt  to  find  a  northern  passage  to  China  by  Sir  wlllop'^  01 
Hugh  Willoughby,  an  Englishman.  This  knight  was  forced  by  lmS.  ''  * 
stress  of  weather  into  Arzena,  a  port  in  Lapland,  where  he  and 
all  his  crew  perished  with  cold.  His  journals  showed,  that 
having  ascended  to  72°  N.,  he  saw  a  land  which  on  some  maps 
bears  his  name  ;  some  call  it  Willop's  Land,  but  useless  efibrts 
were  made  to  find  it  at  the  point  indicated ;  it  was  west  of 
Nova  Zembia,  then  unknown. 

>SS4- 


Mines  of 
TT    Santa  Barbara 
^C  andSanJaan, 
New  Biscay. 


Francis  de  Ybarra,  a  Spaniard,  discovers  the  mines  of  Santa 
Barbara  and  San  Juan,  and  several  other's  in  New  Biscay, 
made,  subsequently,  several  settlements  in  the  provinces  of 
Tapia  and  Cin"  loa,  which,  as  well  as  New  Biscay,  belong  to 
New  Galicia. 

iSSS- 

Nicholas  Durand  de  Villegagnon,  a  Frenchman,  knight  of   French  in 
Malta,  sailed  May  14tb,  this  year,  from  Havre  de  Grace,  to  go       "**' 


WaclgitU. 

NOTI 

ZembI*. 


m  BISTORT  OF  NEW  FRANCE, 

rnnob  In    and  found  a  Bettlement  in  Brazil,  and  on  the  10th  of  November 

BmIL 

he  reached  Rio  Janeiro,  which  the  natives  of  the  country  called 
Ganabara.  He  there  founded  a  French  colony,  composed  en- 
tirely of  Huguenots,  but  which  did  not  subsist  long  after  he 
himself  abandoned  it,  and  re-entered  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

1556. 

Stephen  Barrow,  an  Englishman,  seeking  a  northern  pas- 
sage to  China,  discovered  Waeigatz  Straits,  between  the  south- 
em  part  of  Nova  Zembla  and  the  country  of  Samoyeds.  He 
imagined  a  gulf  east  of  the  strait  to  be  an  open  sea,  and 
thought  that  he  had  discovered  the  desired  passage,  but  the 
failiire  of  subsequent  attempts  shows  his  error 

1562. 

Jean  de  Sibaud,  a  Frenchman,  sails  from  Dieppe,  with  a 
commission  from  Admiral  Coligni,  to  form  a  settlement  in  Flor- 
ida. He  anchored  first  at  a  cape,  which  he  called  Cap  Fran- 
qois,  at  about  30°  N.  This  was  the  same  place  where  Vera- 
zani  landed  on  his  second  voyage.  On  the  Ist  of  May  he  en- 
tered a  river  which  he  called  May  River,  where  he  planted  the 
arms  of  France.  He  then  reconnoitred  the  coast  for  sixty 
leagues,  always  ascending  northward,  and  afterwards  discov- 
ered several  other  rivers,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  rivers 
in  France.  At  last,  reaching  the  most  distant,  which  he  called 
Charles  Port  Port  Royal,  he  built  a  fort  there,  and  called  it  Charles  Fort. 
It  was  quite  near  the  present  city  of  Charleston,  in  jouth 
Carolina. 

1564. 


French  In 
Flortdk. 


Laodonnlere. 
CeroUno. 


Oebn. 


Ren6  de  Laudonniere,  a  Frenchman,  arrived  in  French  Flor- 
ida, which  had  been  abandoned  the  year  before  by  the  settlers 
whom  Riband  had  left.  On  the  29th  of  June  he  entered  May 
River,  and  built  a  fortress,  which  he  called  Caroline. 

1565. 

Michael  Lopez  de  Lagaspi  built  a  city,  Cebu,  on  the  island  of 
that  name,  the  first  of  the  Philippines  discovered  by  Magellan. 


I 

I' 


I 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


:# 


^ 


1567. 

On  the  10th  of  January,  1567,  Alvaro  de  Mendafia,  cousin  of  Boiomon'i 
the  licentiate  Castro,  governor  of  Peru,  sailed  from  Callao,  hav- 
ing AS  chief  pilot  Hernan  de  Qallego.  Aft^r  running  eighteen 
hundred  leagues  west,  he  discovered  at  7"  30'  S.  a  very  large 
island,  and  anchored  in  a  port  which  he  named  Santa  Ijabel 
de  la  Estrella.  He  remained  there  some  time,  and  sent  to 
explore  several  neighboring  islands  of  different  sizes.  He 
saw  one,  among  others,  apparently  very  large,  of  which  he 
explored  only  the  north  shore.  He  named  the  first  that  he 
saw  St.  Elizabeth's,  estimating  its  length  at  about  ninety- 
five  leagues,  and  the  second  Guadalcanar.  He  gave  names  to 
several  others  of  the  neighboring  islands,  and  the  -.7hole 
group  was  styled  Solomon's  If,!-"dB.  The  history  of  the  Mar- 
quis de  Canete,  viceroy  of  Peru,  may  be  consulted  on  the 
subject. 

1571. 

Foundation  of  Manilla,  in  the  island  of  Luzon.    It  is  now  the     uuiiul 
capital  of  the  Philippines. 

1S74- 

Discovery  in  the  Pacific  of  the  islands  of  Juau  Fernandez,  so 
called  after  their  Spanish  discoverer.  They  are  commonly 
reckoned  as  two,  although  maps  lay  down  two  others  to  the 
north,  under  the  names  of  St.  Felix  and  St.  Ambrose,  which  are 
sometimes  also  included  in  the  group  of  islands  of  Juan  Fernan- 
dez. The  former  lie  at  34°  S.,  opposite  Chili.  The  Spaniards 
call  the  one  towards  the  land  Isla  de  Tierra,  the  outer  one  Isla 
de  Fuerra,  and  both,  Desaventuradas — that  is  to  say,  the  Unfor- 
tunate. De  Laet  apparently  thought  these  two  islands  and  the 
other  two  to  be  the  same. 


blands  of 

Jnto  FernM» 

del. 


1576. 

Sir  Martin  Frobisber,  an  Englishman,   discovered  a  strait  Frobiaber^ 
that  bears  his  name  between   the  north   of    Greenland   and 
a  large  island  to  the  south, 
land. 


He  took   back  ores  to  Eng- 


I 


H 


il 


44 


HISTORY  OF  NBW  FRANCB. 


I ' 


Frobliher'i 
Mcond 
Voyage. 


WMt 

FriMlud. 


^577- 
Frobiaher,  in  a  second  voyage  to  the  same  aeas,  made  sev- 
eral discoveries  beyond  his  strait,  and  gave  them  names  still 
retained  on  maps. 

1578- 
Frobisher's  third  voyage.  He  sailed  from  England  on  the 
last  day  of  May  with  fifteen  vessels.  On  the  20th  of  June  he 
reconnoitred  West  Friseland,  and  took  possessiou  in  the  name 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  after  giving  it  the  name  of  West  England. 
He  assumed  it  to  be  the  same  land  which  the  Venetian  brothers, 
Zani,  had  styled  Fridsland. 


|:i 


New  Albion. 

Stnito  of 

Ajilin. 


1579. 

Francis  Drake,  an  Englishman,  discovered  New  Albion,  north 
of  California.  The  English  pretend  that  it  forms  one  continent 
with  the  Strait  of  Yesso  ;  but  New  Albion  is  now  quite  com- 
monly believed  to  be  fabulous.  Drake  also  assured  Queen  Eliz- 
abeth that  he,  this  same  year,  entered  tLe  Straits  01  Anian  for 
twenty  leagues.  People  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  situation  of  this 
strait,  of  which  accounts  dififer.  But  if  it  does  exist,  it  is  ap- 
parently east  of  Tesso,  and  but  little  distant  from  that  country. 


-If 

it}. 


1580. 

New  Engiiah  Arthur  Patt  and  Charles  Jackman,  Englishmen,  by  order  of 
reMTfihiJ*  Queen  Elizabeth,  followed  the  same  route  taken  by  Stephen 
y  t  e  ort .  g^f^Q^  twcnty-four  years  before.  They  pass  Waeigatz  Straits, 
entpr  the  sea  east  of  that  strait,  and  find  it  so  covered  with  ice 
that,  after  encountering  great  dangers,  they  are  compelled  to 
return  without  effecting  any  thing.  Being  afterwards  separated 
in  a  storm,  Patt  was  never  heard  of. 


li 


New 
liexloo. 


1582. 

Friar  Augustine  Ruyz,  a  Spanish  Franciscan,  having  in  1580 
and  1581  made  several  discoveries  to  the  north  of  New  Spain, 
Anthony  de  Espejo,  a  Spaniard,  continues  them,  discovers  more 
than  fifteen  provinces,  and  gives  all  this  great  country  the 
name  of  New  Mexico 


W 


CHRONOLOaiCAL  TABLBa 


45 


Newfbnnd- 
lud. 


Engllah  in 
Fferlda. 


1583. 

Oilbert  Humphrey,  an  English  knight,  sailed  for  Newfonnd- 
land  at  the  instance  of  Walsingham,  secretary  of  state  ;  he 
takes  possession  in  the  name  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  end  estab- 
lishes the  cod-fishery,  from  which  England  has  derived  more 
profit  than  she  would  if  the  island  had  been  filled  with  gold 
mines.  Moreover,  no  men  are  lost  in  this  trade,  and  nothing 
contributes  more  to  make  good  sailors. 

Richard  Grenville,  an  Englishman,  by  order  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, made  a  settlement  in  Florida,  a  little  below  S.  Juan  de 
Fifios.     It  did  not  last  long. 


1584,  1585. 

Philip  Amidas  and  Arthur  Barlow,  Englishmen,  sent  by  Sir  yirginit. 
Walter  Raleigh,  sailed  in  March,  1584,  and  landed  on  Roanoke 
Island.  On  their  return  to  England,  they  spoke  so  well  of  the 
country  that  Queen  Elizabeth  gave  it  the  name  of  Virginia,  to 
immortalize  the  memory  of  her  celibacy.  A  settlement  was 
made  the  next  year  on  Roanoke  Island  ;  but  it  did  not  last,  the 
country  not  proving  as  good  as  was  at  first  supposed.  The 
name  of  Virginia  did  not  attach  to  it,  for  Roanoke  is  in  North 
Oarolina. 

The  same  year,  1585,  John  Davis,  an  Englishman,  was  ordered 
by  Queen  Elizabeth  to  continue  Sir  Martin  Frobisher's  discov- 
«ries,  which  he  did  successfully  in  this  and  the  following  years. 


f 


1586. 

After  several  discoveries  in  what  was  then  called  the  Sea  of  c»pe  dmoU- 
Estotiland,  he  advanced  to  a  cape  where  he  encountered  many 
storms,  and  ran  great  danger.    He  called  it  Gape  Desolation. 

1587. 

He  discovered  a  strait,  to  which  he  gives  hia  name,  and      Davu' 
-which  still  retains  it.  *'""* 

1589. 

Pedro  de  Sarmiento,  a  Spaniard,  sent  by  Don  Francisco  de 
Toledo,  viceroj   of  Peru,  against  Sir  Francis  Drake,  who  was 


li 


<1-      : 


m 


BISTORT  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


DiieoTtriM  desolating  all  the  Pacific,  diecoTera  all  tlie  coast  from  49°  S.  to 
stniu  or    the  Straits  of  Magellan,  which  he  passed.    He  everywhere  took 
possession  of  the  country  for  the  crown  of  Castile. 


1590. 


Most  English  authors  place  in  this  year  the  discovery  of 
This  strait  is  between  Greenland  and  an  island 


DtTit' 

Btnlte       _       .  ,  ^ 

OiiniiMriud  Davis'  straits. 

laland. 

called,  by  Davis,  Cumberland  Island 


HndioD'i 
B.y. 


H^uUiern 


HMua 
Btrtita. 


1591. 

It  is  pretended  that  this  year  Frederic  AnschiH,  a  Dane,  win- 
tered in  Hudson's  Bay,  drove  au  extensive  trade  for  furs,  and 
returned  richly  laden  to  Denmark,  but  without  making  any  set- 
tler at. 

»S93- 
Sir  Richard  Hawkins,  an  Englishman,  having  undertaken  to 
circumnavigate  the  globe,  discovered,  southwest  of  Magellan's 
Straits,  at  48°  S.,  a  great  land  extending  on  the  one  side  be- 
yoad  Le  Maire's  Straits,  and  on  the  other  till  opposite  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  He  also  ascertained,  it  is  said,  that  the  land 
south  of  Magellan's  Straits  is  only  a  collection  of  islands. 

1594. 

Count  Maurice  of  Nassau  having  taken  up  the  project  aban- 
doned by  the  Engli'^h  of  discovering  a  northern  passage-way  to 
China,  dispatched  three  vessels,  under  the  command  of  Corne- 
lius Cornelisznay,  who  sailed  in  the  Swan  of  Veer,  in  Zealand  ; 
the  second  vessel,  named  the  Mercury,  of  Enchuysen,  was  com- 
manded by  Brandt  Ysbrandtz,  of  Tergales  ;  and  the  third,  the 
Bot,  of  Amsterdam,  had  as  captain  William  Barentsz,  of  Ter 
Schellings,  burgomaster  of  Amsterdam.  John  Huyghens  van 
Linschooten  was  clerk  on  the  Mercury,  and  has  given  us  a 
journal  of  this  voyage.  They  sailed  from  Texel  June  5.  On 
the  24th  tLey  made  Isle  Kildoyn,  where  they  anchored.  It  is 
about  69°  40'  N.  They  made  then  rendezvous  for  their  return, 
and  the  But  of  Amsterdam  parted  company  to  go  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Nova  Zembla,  which  was  already  known,  but  the  dis- 
covery of  which  is  by  some  geographers  incorrectly  assigned  to 


1 


CHRONOI/)aiCAL  TABLES. 


41 


Barcntaz,  who  commanded  this  vessel.  On  the  2l8t  of  July  UwriM 
the  two  vessels  perceived  a  land,  which,  according  to  their  '•-*• 
opinions,  should  be  Wacigatz  Island  or  land,  and  on  the  ?.2d 
an  opening  which  they  took  for  a  strait  of  the  same  naiue. 
They  entered  and  called  it  Nassau  Strait.  They  encountered 
great  danger  here  from  the  ice.  Leaving  this  they  entered  the 
Sea  of  Tartary,  and  found  it  so  beautiful  that  they  had  no  doubt 
but  that  it  must  lead  them  to  China  and  Japan.  They  ad- 
vanced beyond  the  mouth  of  the  river  Oby  ;  then  retracing  their 
course,  and  repassing  Nassau  Straits,  they  anchored  on  the  16th 
of  August  north  of  an  island  which  they  called  Maurice  Island. 
Here  Barentsz  joined  them,  having  run  up  to  78",  and  explored 
most  of  the  Nova  Zembla  coast.  Ice  had  prevented  his  further 
progress,  and  he  was  seeking  a  southern  passage.  Cornells  told 
him  that  he  believed  he  had  discovered  one  by  Nassau  Strait. 
North  of  Maurice  Island  was  another,  which  was  named  Orange 
Island.  These  islands  are  at  about  69°  30'.  The  land  beyond 
the  gulf,  eastward,  was  styled  New  West  Friesland,  Waeigatz 
Island  was  called  Enchuysen  Island,  and  the  whole  country  south 
of  the  Straits  of  Nassau,  as  far  as  the  Oby,  was  called  Now 
Holland.    On  the  I5th  of  September  they  anchored  at  Tezel. 

»S9S- 

Alvaro  de  MendaQa  sailed  on  the  llth  of  April  from  Callao  Mirqueaiut. 
in  four  vessels  for  Solomon's  Islands,  bearing  as  first  pilot  uiatdeSant* 
Peter  Hernan  de  Quiros.  After  sailing  more  than  1,100  leagues 
west,  they  discovered  at  about  10°  several  inconsiderable 
islands,  which  they  named  the  Marquesas  de  Mendoza  ;  holding 
still  west,  they  came  to  more  small  islands,  and  at  last,  on  Sep- 
tember Ith,  reached  a  large  one,  where  they  landed  in  a  bay, 
and  called  it  Oraciosa.  During  their  stay  on  the  island  they 
explored  the  coast.  It  seemed  to  them  about  300  leagues  in 
circuit.  They  discovered  several  islands  near  the  large  one, 
which  they  styled  Islands  de  Santa  Cruz. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  expedition  to  Guiana  and  discoveries.         ouUu. 

The  three  oflScers  named  in  the  article  1594  sailed  from  Texel 
July  2,  in  seven  vessels,  to  continue  their  explorations,  but 
meeting  much  ice,  they  returned  to  Holland  with  fainter  hope 
of  finding  what  they  sought. 


\l 


II 


HIPTOBY  OF  NEW   yRANCB. 


1596. 


8ptiib«rg«iL  William  Barcntsz  undortakes  tu  pab.4  to  China  north  of 
Nova  Zembla ;  but  after  discovering  Spitzbtrgen,  which  bo 
took  to  be  an  islund,  and  which  the  English  regard  aa  part 
of  Greenland,  he  loat  his  ship  in  the  ice,  and  wintered  in 
Nova  Zembla.  He  then  endeavored  to  reach  Cola,  in  Lapland, 
bnt  died  on  the  way,  still  convinced  that  twenty  leagues 
north  of  Nova  Zembla  there  is  no  ice,  nor  any  thing  to  pre- 
vent a  ship  penetrating  to  China.  In  fact,  if  we  may  credit 
the  author  of  the  account  of  the  shipwreck  of  a  Dutch  ship 
in  1653,  on  Quelpaer.,8  Island,  who  states  that  whales  were 
found  in  the  sea  of  Corea  st''.!  bearing  in  their  body  Gascoii 
harpoons,  such  as  are  used  in  the  whale-fishery  on  the  coast 
of  Greenland,  we  cannot  duabt  the  justness  of  Barentsz's  con- 
jecture. 


S«b«l(l  d» 
Wtrft 
bUod. 


8sb<8  laUniL 
^udl*. 


Row  Meilou. 
Ban  Jutn. 


1598. 

James  Mahu,  Simon  de  Corde,  Sebald  de  Wert,  and  some 
other  Hollanders,  attempting  to  pass  through  the  Straits  ot  Ma- 
gellan, were  forced  by  head  winds  to  return,  without  any  of 
them  reaching  the  PaciLc  ixcept  the  ship  which  carried  Wil- 
liam Adams,  an  Euglishmi.n,  as  Jrnt  pilot  of  the  squadron, 
and  ^vhich  was  wrecked  on  the  eantern  shore  of  Japan. 
Sebald  de  Wert,  on  leaving  the  Rtraits,  discovered,  February 
24th,  three  islands,  whicu  bear  his  name.  He  puts  the  lati- 
tude at  50°  50'  S.  Some  authors  assign  this  discovery  to  the 
year  1600. 

The  Marquis  dc  la  Roche,  a  Breton,  receiving  from  Henry 
iV.,  of  France,  a  commission  to  continue  the  explorations  be- 
gun, by  Jacques  Cartior,  discovered,  this  same  year.  Sable  Island 
and  a  part  of  the  coast  of  Acadia.  It  is  pretended  that  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert,  already  ineutioned,  lost  three  ships  on  Sable 
Island  in  1581. 

«S99- 
John  de  Oftate  makes  extensive  conquests  in  New  Mexico. 
He  builds  the  city  of  San  Juan,  and  discovers  a  number  oi 
mines. 


.   (■ 


OHRONOLOGIOAL  TABLE8. 


Diiteh  Kut 

Indl*  do. 


Aoadlt. 


1602. 

The  States-General  consolidate  into  one  all  the  separate  mer- 
cantile companies,  and  form  from  them  the  famoub  Dutch  East 
India  Company. 

1604. 

Pierre  de  Onast,  Siear  de  Montz,  and  Samuel  de  Ohamplain, 
Frenclimen,  complete  the  exploration  of  Acadii,  hpgun  by  the 
Marquis  de  la  Roche  ;  then  discover  the  southern  coast  of 
Caaada,  which  is  separated  from  Acadia  by  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 
They  made  a  settlement  the  same  year  on  Isle  de  St.  Croix. 
The  next  winter,  Champlain  pushed  his  explorations  beyond 
Pentogoet  (Penobscot). 

1605. 

Continuing  their  discoveries,  they  explore  the  Quinibequi,  or  cap*  Uai*- 
Canibequi  (Kennebec),  the  river  of  the  Canibas,  an  Abenaki  c»peOo4 
nation,  then  Cape  Malebare,  opposite  a  cape  which  the  French 
call  Cap  Blanc,  and  the  English,  Ca^e  Cod,  near  which  has 
since  been  built  the  city  of  Boston  (pronounced  by  the  French 
Baston),  now  the  capital  of  New  England.  Champlain  planted 
a  cross  on  Cape  Malebare,  and  took  possession  in  the  name  of 
his  royal  mr.ster. 

i6c6. 

Peter  Ferdinand  de  Quiros,  a  Spanish  captain,  sailed  from 
Callao,  December  21,  1605,  in  two  vessels,  to  discover  southern 
lands.  He  steered  W.  S.  W.,  and  January  2C,  1606,  in  latitude 
25*"  S.,  1,000  leagues  from  the  coast  of  Peru,  he  descried  an 
island  of  about  four  leagues  circuit.  He  saw  several  other 
islands  and  extensive  lands  in  a  space  of  about  400  leagues, 
detached,  however,  and  separated  from  each  other,  and  running 
up  to  about  10  or  11"  S.  It  is  therefore  incorrect  in  geogra- 
phers to  set  down  in  this  place  a  continuous  coast  of  about  800 
leagues  in  length. 

He  then  steered  west,  and  on  April  25th  discovered  a  great 
continent,  which  he  named  Tierra  Austral  del  Espiritu  Santo. 
He  anchored  in  several  ports  which  he  named.  This  is  com- 
monly called  Tierra  de  Quiros. 

VOL.  I.— 4 


Terr*  d* 
Qulroi. 


I 


m 


Tcmd* 
Qulrofc 


Tlrftnti, 


Tb«  Dutch 

HttI*  In  th* 

Indlui. 


HIiTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCa 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  thoH»  landH  aro  Houth  of  tlio  nunforn 
point  of  New  Guinea,  and  form  tho  eaatoru  flhoro  uf  tlio  lund 
of  Carpentaria. 

1607. 

Jolin  Smith,  an  Englishman,  explores  Chesapeake  Bay,  and 
the  river  Powhatan,  which  empties  into  it.  On  this  river  lie 
built  a  fort,  which  has  become  a  city,  named  Jam<>stown,  now 
the  capital  of  Virginia.  He  also  gave  the  river  the  name  of 
James,  in  honor  of  James  I.,  king  of  Qreat  Britain,  but  its 
former  name  is  more  in  use. 

This  same  year  the  Dutch  expelled  the  Portuguese  from  Am- 
boyna,  one  of  the  groat  Moluccas,  and  made  their  first  settle- 
ment in  the  East  Indies. 


(li 


II 


I,: 


1608. 

QaobM.         On  the  third  of  July,  in  this  year,  Samuel   de  Champlain 

founded  the  city  of  Quebec,  capital  of  New  F/UiKO,  on  the 

northern  shore  of  the  river  St.   Lawrence,   120  leagues  from 

the  eea,  between  a  little  river  which  bears  the  name  of  St. 

Charles,  and  a  large   cape   culled  Capo   Diamond,  because    a 

quantity  of  diamonds,  like  those  of  Alen9on  were  then  found 

there.     The   Indians   gave  this   place   the   name  Quebeio,  or 

Quelibec,  which  in  Algonquin  and  Abenaki  means  a  narrowing 

in,  because  the  river  there  narrows  in  till  it  is  only  a  mile 

wide  ;  whereas  just  below  Isle  Orleans — that  is  to  say,  ten 

leagues  further  down — it  still  maintains  a  breac'lli  of  four  or 

five  leagues. 

1609. 

HtwTork.  Henry  Hudson,  an  Englishman,  after  running  along  the 
coasts  of  Virginia  and  New  England,  found  Capo  Cod  to  be 
twenty  leagues  further  west  than  he  supposed.  He  then  dis- 
covered, at  40°  N.,  a  large  bay,  in  which  emptied  a  great  river, 
which  lie  called  Manhatte,  from  the  name  of  the  Indians  whom 
he  found  there.  This  captain  was  in  the  service  of  the  Dutch, 
who  were  for  some  time  in  possession  of  that  country,  which 
they  styled  New  Natherland.  The  city  of  Manhattan  and  Fort 
Orange  were  built  by  them  on  the  same  rivt  i-.  This  country 
now  bears  the  name  of  New  York,  and  belongb  tc  the  English, 
who  gave  the  same  name  also  to  the  city  of  Miinhattau. 


i 


CHRONOLOHCAL  TABLES. 


n 


SappoMd 

niirtlMrn 

rouU. 


Huduti'l 
Btr  ud 
StnlU, 


We  read  in  hoiiio  mcmuirH,  tliat  in  1009  a  vohhuI  cloariii^ 
from  Acapuico,  a  Mexican  port  on  tiie  Pacific,  wan  HiirpriHod  hy 
a  violent  Btnrm,  in  wliicii  it  Kmt  itri  route  ;  tliat  after  two 
monthn  it  found  itnelf  at  Dublin,  in  Ireland,  wlxmce  it  proceeded 
to  Lisbon,  but  that  the  king  of  Spain  ordered  all  tliu  journalfi  of 
the  pilots  to  bo  burned,  so  as  to  deprive  all  foreigners  of  a 
knowledge  of  the  route  followed  by  this  ship,  which  is  supposed 
to  have  gone  by  the  northern  route,  above  Canada. 

In  fine,  this  same  year,  Henry  Hudson  and  William  Baffins, 
Englishmen,  penetrated  very  far  to  the  northwest  above  Can- 
ada, where  the  next  year  they  discovered,  as  the  English  pro- 
tend, the  countries  which  still  bear  their  names  ;  but  they 
certainly  made  no  settlement  there  ;  and  Nelson,  Hudson's 
pilot,  certainly  did  not  then  take  possession  of  what  the  Eng- 
lish call  Port  Nelson,  on  the  western  shore  of  Hudson's  Bay. 

1611. 

Samuel  do  Champlain  peuetrates  into  the  country  of  the  Iro-    irMDoii. 
quois,  and  discovers  a  great  lake,  which  still  bears  his  name.        ^dP'^'*!'^ 

Don  Juan  de  Onate,  a  Spaniard,  discovers  the  Rio  del  Norte,      "oru. 
called  by  some  the  Rio  Colorado,  and  the  lake  of  the  Conibas, 
above  New  Mexico. 

At  the  same  time,  Thomas  Button,  an  Englishman,  discov-  Battoo'i  B*r 
ered,  north  of  Canada,  a  great  country,  which  he  called  New 
Wales.     He  i^ext  explored  all  the  bay  which  bears  his  name  ; 
then  Diggs'  Land  ;   and,  finally,  another   very  vast  country, 
which  he  called  Cary's  Swan's  Nest. 

1612. 

James  Hall,  an  Englishman,  discovers  Cockin's  Straits  at  65°     oooUn't 
N.,  above  Canada. 

1613. 

Some  Englishmen  discovered  an  island  to  the  north  of  Qreen-  Hop«  buna 
land,  which  they  called  Hope  Island.     Some  suppose  it  to  be 
identical  with  that  discovered  by  Willoughby  in  1653  ;  but  this 
does  not  seem  to  be  so. 

1615. 

Samuel  de  Champlain  enters  the  country  of  the  Hurons  in     Horou* 
Canada,  and  spends  the  winter  exploring  it. 


! 


I  ,♦ 


j:U    i 


ill 


62 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


New  Nether- 
land. 


Aaoenslon 
Island. 


Le  Uaire'a 
Btndw 


Edgar's  bla. 


This  same  year  the  Dutch  began  to  settle  Manhattan  Island, 
and  gave  the  country  the  name  of  New  Netherland. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  William  Schouteu  and  James  or  Jacob 

le  Maire,  Dutchmen,  sailed  from  Texel  to  seek  a  new  passage  to 

the  Pacific,  and  on  the  3d  of  November  discovered  Ascension 

Island,  said  by  Schouten,  in  his  journal,  to  be  one  of  Martin 

Vaes'  islands,  but  I  cannot  find  when  or  by  whom  these  were 

discovered. 

1616. 

On  the  25th  of  January,  Schouten  and  Le  Maire  found  them- 
selves at  the  mouth  of  a  strait,  south  of  Magellan's.  Of  the 
two  lands  bordering  on  this  strait,  they  called  that  on  their 
left,  to  the  E.  S.  E.,  Staten  Land,  and  that  on  their  right,  to  the 
west,  Maurice  von  Nassau's  Land.  The  same  day  they  entered 
the  strait.  On  the  29th  they  discovered  several  small  islands, 
which  they  called  Barneveld's  Islands,  in  honor  of  John  Van 
Orden  Barncveld,  counsellor-pensiouer  of  Holland  and  West 
Friesland.  The  same  day  they  perceived  a  cape,  which 
Schouten  calls  Cape  Horn,  from  the  name  of  his  birthplace. 
On  the  12th  of  February  tliey  found  themselves  through  the 
strait,  which  they  called  Straits  of  Le  Maire,  because  Isaac  le 
Maire,  Jacob's  father,  was  the  chief  owner  in  the  venture. 
Returning  to  Europe  by  way  of  the  Moluccas,  they  discovered 
several  islandSj  chiefly  inhabited,  and  all  the  northern  coast  of 
New  Guinea.  On  their  arrival  in  Holland,  after  circumnavi- 
gating the  globe,  they  found  that  they  were  reckoning  a  day 
short  of  the  right  time,  for,  according  to  their  count,  it  was 
Monday,  when  it  was,  in  fact,  Tuesday. 

This  same  year  Thomas  Edgar,  an  Englishman,  discovered, 
north  of  Greenlartl,  an  island,  to  which  he  gave  his  name. 


Wlchea' 
Island. 


1617, 

Another  island,  north  of  Greenland,  discovered  by  an  Eng- 
lishman named  Wiches,  who  g^^ve  it  his  name. 


Sonrca  of  tba 
Nile. 


1618. 

Father  Peter  Palis, .  or  Paez,  a  Portuguese  Jesuit,  having 
gone  to  the  kingdom  of  Gojam  in  the  suite  of  the  emperor  of 
the  Abyssinians,  discovered  the  source  of  the  Nile. 


CHRONOLOaiCAL  TABLES.  88 

To  this  year  is  assigned  the  discovery  of  New  Holland,  quite  M«w  Holland, 
near  the  Austral  Lands.  It  is  still  doubted  whether  they  do 
no'  connect  with  each  other,  as  well  as  with  the  lands  of  Janz 
Taamen,  Van  Diemen,  New  Zealand,  Carpentaria,  and  New 
Guinea.  The  first  part  of  New  Holland  discoyered  was  called 
Land  of  Concord. 

1619. 

John  Munk,  a  Dane,  undertaking  to  seek  a  northwest  pas-    New  Den- 
sage  to  China,  above  Canada,  keeping  Frobisher's  route,  ran  up    obrisUaos 
to  64°  N.,  where  he  was  arrested  by  the  ice.    He  wintered  in 
a  bay,  giving  his  name  to  a  river  emptying  into  it.     He  then 
called  this  sea  Christiana  Sea,  and  all  the  country  which  he 
discovered  New  Denmark. 

Edel's  Land,  discovered  in  New  Holland,  bears  apparently  EdereUnd. 
iU.  discoverer's  name. 


1620. 

Fath<>r  Jerome  de  Angelis,  a  Sicilian  Jesuit,  enters  the  land      Yean, 
of  Yesso,  which  no  European  had  previously  reached.    He  went 
by  sea,  and  landed  at  the  city  of  Matsumay.    He  then  took 
this  country  to  be  a  continent. 

Batavia  founded  by  the  Dutch,  in  the  island  of  Java,  on  the     Batavia. 
ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of  Jacatra. 

Some  Englishmen,  sailing  from  Plymouth  in  the  month  of   ^ew  piy- 
September  in  this  year,  found  New  Plymouth,  the  first  city  in 
New  England. 

1621. 

Futher  de  Angelis,  having  returned  to  Matsumay,  believed      xtmo. 
on  this  second  voyage,  yet  without  afiSrming  it,  that  this  city 
was  on  an  island.     The  Japanese  also  seem  to  be  of  this 
opinion. 

1622. 

TVilliam  Baffins,  according  to  the  most  general  opinion,  dis-  Baffin's  B»y. 
covered  in  this  year,  and  not  in  1617,  as  some  suppose,  the  bay 
bearing  his  name,  north  of  Davis'  Straits.  .      , 

Discovery  of  Lewin's  Land,  in  New  Holland.  ^^^ 


JH  HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


1624. 
Bonroeof       Father  Anthony  de  Audrada,  a  !?ortuguese  Jesuit,  discovers 

the  OADgM. 

Thibet  the  source  of  the  Ganges,  and  Uien  Thibet.  Marco  Polo,  of 
Venice,  spoke  of  two  Thibets,  which  adjoined,  but  their  situa- 
tion W8-  unknown.  It  was  Greater  Thibet  that  Father  de 
Andrad     'discovered. 


OtjeDna, 


8L  Ctarlito- 
pben. 


1625. 

First  settlement  of  the  French  in  the  island  of  Cayenne. 
They  have  been  several  times  driven  out  by  the  Dutch,  but 
since  the  year  1677,  when  the  Count  d'Etr^es  retook  it,  it  has 
remained  theirs,  with  all  the  mainland  of  Guyana  Proper. 

This  same  year  some  French  and  English  landed  on  the 
island  of  St.  Christophers  the  same  day,  at  different  points, 
unaware  of  each  other,  and  settled  there.  They  were  shortly 
after  driven  out  by  the  Spaniards,  but  soon  returned.  The 
French  then  began  a  settlement  ou  the  island  of  St.  Eustatius, 
and  soon  after  others  in  the  neighboring  islands. 

1627. 

Nuyt'iUnd.  Peter  de  Nuyts,  a  Dutchman,  discovers,  between  New  Hol- 
land and  New  Guinea  a  land  which  bears  his  name.  All  these 
countries  are  still  very  little  known. 

1631. 

Captain  James,  an  Englishman,  discovers  several  lands  north 
Hudson's  Bay.  He  called  all  at  the  mouth  of  the  bay  New 
South  Wales.  He  then  named  Cape  Henrietta  Maria,  Lord 
Weston's  Island,  Earl  Bristol's  Island,  Sir  Thomas  Roe's  Island, 
Earl  Danby's  Island,  and  Charleston  Island.  The  last  is  at 
52°  N. 

1633. 

Cecil  Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore,  an  English  Catholic,  having 
obtained  from  Charles  I.,  king  of  Great  Britain,  a  grant  of  a 
large  territory  north  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  between  Virginia  and 
Carolina,  sent  his  son  thither,  who  this  year  began  a  settle- 
ment. The  country  was  named  Maryland,  in  honor  of  Mary  of 
France,  queen  of  Euglaud. 


New  Diacov- 
erlea  north  of  „f 
Cankdi.       "I 


Maryland. 


>1  « 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


m 


1637.  '38.  '39- 

Two  Franciscan  friars,  Dominic  de  Britto  and  Andrew  de  Tbe  Amuon. 
Toledo,  starting  from  Quito,  embarked  on  a  river  quite  near 
there,  and  letting  the  current  bear  them  on,  at  last  entered  the 
Amazon,  which  they  descended  to  the  sea.  On  their  report, 
which  does  not  give  much  light,  Don  Pedro  de  Texeyra  started 
from  Para,  a  province  in  Brazil,  on  the  25th  of  December,  in 
the  same  year,  to  ascend  the  river,  of  which  he  acquired  a 
better  knowledge. 

The  Spanish  wishing  to  know  more  fully  the  course  of  this 
great  river,  the  governor  of  Quito  induced  Fathers  Christopher 
de  Acuna  and  Andrew  de  Artieda,  Jesuits,  to  accompany  Don 
Pedro  Texeyra  on  his  return  to  Para.  These  two  missionai  les, 
after  an  exact  observation  of  the  whole  country  watered  by 
this  great  river  and  its  branches,  went  to  Spain  to  give  an 
account  to  the  Spanish  monarch.  We  have  the  journal  of  this 
voyage  by  Father  de  Acufia,  translated  into  French  by  M.  de 
Gk)mberville,  of  the  French  Academy.  I  have  already  observ  ed 
that  Father  de  Acuna  was  mistaken  in  laying  down  on  his  map 
a  riv.r,  or  rather  an  arm  issuing  from  this  river,  under  the 
name  of  Marfiaon,  and  emptying  in  the  Bay  of  Maranham,  in 
Brazil. 

Many  errors  had  till  now  prevailed  as  to  the  source  of  this 
great  river,  which  was  supposed  to  be  near  Quito,  but  they  had 
taken  the  head-waters  of  a  branch  for  those  of  the  main  stream. 
Father  Samuel  Fritz,  a  German  Jesuit,  in  1707,  discovered  it  in 
Peru,  in  a  lake  called  Laurichoca,  near  the  city  of  Guanuco,  at 
11"  S.  According  to  this  missionary,  the  true  name  of  this 
river,  of  which  he  has  given  us  a  very  fine  map  [Lettres  Edi- 
fiantes  et  Curieiises,  vol.  xii.),  is  Maranon.  After  leaving  its 
source,  it  runs  north  about  a  hundred  leagues,  then  turns  east, 
and  empties  into  the  Atlantic  by  eighty-four  mouths,  which 
occupy  a  breadth  of  eighty-four  leagues.  He  adds,  that  it 
keeps  its  water  fresh  more  than  thirty  leagues  out  at  sea. 

Foundation  of  New  Sweden  and  of  the  town  of  Christina,  New  swedea 
between  Virginia  and  New  York,  then  called  New  Netherland, 
and  occupied  by  the  Dutch.    The  latter  had  settlements  even 
in  New  Sweden,  when   the  Swedes  arrived,  and  these  two 


.   M 


11 


iSMMgg  M!!Jil^aJ«^Bjrt■iaia»ji^»■'! 


rs-yryt^-l. '^^Wlm.- 


66 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


Tnakt     nations  at  first  lived  there  very  tranquilly.     The  Dutch  devoted 
rigbu  to  tiia  tliemselves  to  trade,  and  the  Swedes  to  the  cultivation  of  the 

Dotob. 

earth.  After  some  time  they  became  antagonists  ;  but  in  1655, 
John  Risingh,  the  Swedish  governor,  transferred  all  his  rights 
to  Peter  Stuyvesant,  governor  for  ttie  United  Provinces. 


1642. 


Van  Dicmen's 
Lud  and 
Tumiiil*. 


Discovery  of  Van  Diemcu's  Land  and  Tazmania,  by  Abel  Taz- 
mann,  a  Dutchman.  It  is  pretended  that  the  north  shore  of  the 
former  had  been  discovered  by  another  Dutchman,  named  Zechaen. 
UwIhuow.  This  same  year  the  French  went  to  Madagascar,  and  settled. 
They  gave  this  island  the  name  of  Dauphin  Island,  but  they 
abandoned  it  some  years  after. 


Bronwar'n 


,    Tmio, 
Btnili  or 

VriM. 
Isle*  of  tho 

BUtM, 
TboOom- 
ny'a  Land. 


Hudaon'a 
Bar. 


OM«ttM. 


1643- 

Brouwet's  Passage,  east  of  Le  MaireV  Strait,  between  Staten 
Land  and  another  great  land,  bears  the  name  of  its  discoverer. 
It  is  called  aimplv  Passage,  because  it  is  not  yet  known 
whether  it  is  a  new  strait,  or  whether  it  re-enters  Le  Maire's. 

The  same  year,  Martin  Heritzoon,  of  Vriez,  a  Dutchman,  un- 
dertook, in  the  Castricoom,  a  ship  of  the  Dutch  India  Company, 
to  explore  the  country  of  Tesso.  Ascending  above  Japan  to 
about  45°  N.,  be  discovered  two  lands  separated  by  a  strait 
fourteen  leagues  wide,  to  which  he  gave  his  name,  and  which 
is  stiU  called  Straits  of  Vriez.  One  of  the  lands  bordering 
on  if  was  named  Isles  of  the  States,  the  other,  The  Company's 

Land. 

1656. 

Sinur  Bourdon,  an  inhabitant  of  New  France,  sent  to  the 
northward  by  the  governor-general,  entered  Hudson's  Bay, 
where  nobody  that  we  know  had  yet  penetrated,  and  took  pos- 
session in  the  name  of  the  Most  Christian  king. 

1660. 

Charles  II.,  king  of  Great  Britain,  grant?d  to  Grcorge  lionk, 
duke  of  Albemarle,  and  five  other  English  noMemen,  that  part 
of  Florida  which  extends  from  Virginia  to  what  is  djw  called 
New  Georgia.  They  divided  the  country  auiuiig  them,  and 
gave  it  the  name  of  Carolina. 


CHRONOLOaiCAL  TABLES. 


1667. 


/ 


HndirVl 
B.y. 


Zachary  Ohillam,  an  Englishinai],  having  run  up  Baffin's  Bay 
to  75°  N.,  ran  down  to  the  bottom  of  Hudson's  Bay,  entered  a 
river  which,  rising  in  Canada,  empties  there,  and  which  he 
named  Rupert's  River.  A  few  years  before,  some  Englishmen 
had  ascended  the  river  to  Lake  Nemiscau. 


166U. 
Two  Danish  ships  tried  to  form  a  settlement  north  of  Hud-  Duiah  Birer, 
son's  Bay,  and  discovered  a  river,  vh'cb  they  called  Danish 
River.     Its  mouth  is  at  59°.    They  abandoned  it  the  next  year. 


1671. 

Father  Charles  Albanel,  a  French  Tesuit,  and  Sieur  Denis  de 
St.  Simon,  a  Canadian  gentleman,  sent  by  the  governor-general 
of  New  France  to  the  north  of  Canada,  reach  Hudson's  Bay  by 
a  hitherto  untried  path,  and  take  possession  in  the  name  of  the 
French  king. 

1673. 

Father  Peter  (James)  Marquette,  a  French  Jesuit,  and  Sieur 
Joliet,  an  inhabitant  of  New  France,  discover  the  Missibsippi. 
They  entered,  it  by  the  river  Ouisconsing,  which  empties  into  it, 
rising  in  Canada,  and  descended  it  to  the  Arkansas. 

1674. 

Fathers  Orillet  uud  Bechamel,  French  Jesuits,  penetrate  to 
the  interior  of  Ouiana,  to  the  west  of  the  island  Cayenne,  where 
no  European  had  yet  gone,  and  make  many  discoveries. 

1675. 

About  this  time,  Father  Cyprian  Baraza,  a  Spanish  Jesuit, 
entered  tlie  country  of  the  Moxos,  situated  between  19°  and 
15°  S,,  in  the  interior  of  Peru.  A  Jesuit  brother,  named  del 
Castillo,  had  made  an  expedition  there  before  that  missionary. 
Father  Baraza  was  assured  that  there  was  a  country  to  the 
east  of  Moxos,  inhabited  by  warlike  women.  He  then  entered 
the  country  of  the  Baures,  which  bounds  that  of  the  Moxos,  and 
was  martyred  there  in  1682,  after  having  founded  a  great 
number  of  missions  in  these  vast  provinces. 


Hudun^ 


MlaMiilpiil 


Quiui. 


UoxM 
Bituras. 


I 


68 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


Attempt  to 
And  *  north- 


1676. 

Captain  John  Wood  and  William  Hawes,  Englishmen,  wish- 
aroMMiiKrto  ing  to  follow  the  p".c3-g0  '"ndicated  by  Barentsz  to  reach  China 
by  the  north,  were  arrested  by  the  ice.  Wood  pretends  in  his 
journal  that  there  is  no  passage  between  Nova  Zembla  and 
Greenland,  and  that  these  two  lands  are  but  the  same  main- 
land ;  for,  says  he,  if  there  were  a  passage  there  would  be  a 
regular  current ;  and  he  found  only  a  tiue,  rising  about  eight 
feet,  and  running  E.  S.  E. 


w< 


MIoiasipjpL 

IiUod  of  BV' 

badoM. 


Penntjrka- 
nl». 


1680. 

Robert  Cavelier,  Sieur  de  la  Salle,  a  native  of  Rouen,  having 
undertaken  to  continue  the  exploration  of  the  Micinsippi,  sent 
a  Canadian  named  Dacan,  accompanied  by  Father  Louis  Henne- 
pin, a  Flemish  Recollect,  to  ascend  this  river  from  the  Illinois 
River  to  its  source.  These  two  travellers  went  to  46°  N.,  and 
were  stopped  by  high  falls,  which  extend  entirely  across  the 
river,  and  which  they  named  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua. 

That  same  year,  and  the  next.  Captain  Sharp,  a  Hollander, 
having  endeavored  in  vam  to  pass  to  the  Pacific  by  the  Straits 
of  Magellan,  the  Straits  of  Le  Maire,  and  Brouwer's  Passage, 
sought  a  more  southerly  route,  and  found  several  ice-covered 
islands,  much  snow,  and  numbers  of  whales.  After  stepping 
some  time  on  an  island,  which  he  called  Duke  of  York's  Island, 
he  ran  more  than  eight  hundred  leagues  to  the  eastward,  then 
as  far  west,  and  discovered  an  island,  to  wiich  he  gave  the 
name  of  Barbadoes. 

1681. 

Establishment  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  country  which  had 
borne  the  name  of  New  Sweden.  This  country  received  its 
name  from  its  founder.  Sir  William  Penn,  an  Englishman,  to 
whom  Charles  II,,  king  of  Great  Britain,  granted  the  country  in 
1680,  and  who,  this  year,  1681,  led  there  some  Quaker?  from 
England,  of  whom  he  was  the  chief.  When  he  arriv'.,a  there, 
he  found  a  great  number  of  Dutch  and  Swedes.  The  former 
were  chiefly  settled  along  the  gulf,  and  the  latter  on  the  banks 
of  the  Delaware,  or  South   River.     It  seems  from  one  of  his 


i^ 


1; 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


69 


;   but  he   Bays   chancier  of 
the  Dutoh. 


letters  that  he  was  not  satisfied  with  the  Dutch 
that  the  Swedes  were  a  simple,  hardy,  laborious  people,  without 
malice,  caring  little  fur  abundance,  and  contenting  themselves 
with  T/hat  was  necessary. 

Anthony  de  Saravia,  first  governor  of  the  Marian  Islands, 
took  pDSsession  of  them  in  the  name  of  the  Catholic  king,  on 
tho  isla;  1  of  Guahan,  which  is  the  chief  one.  Magellan  had 
discovered  these  islands  in  1521,  and  had  called  them,  first,  the 
Archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus,  then  the  Ladrone  Islands,  because 
some  of  the  islanders,  who  had  never  seen  iron,  stole  from  him 
some  iron  tools.  In  15C3  the  admiral  Dun  Miguel  Lopez  de 
Lagasp^  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Spain,  but 
made  no  settlement.  They  were  then  called  Islas  de  la  Velas, 
because  whenever  the  islanders  perceived  Spanish  ships,  they 
went  oflf  in  great  numbers  to  take  them  fresh  provisions,  so  that 
the  sea  seemed  covered  with  little  craft  driven  by  sails.  In 
1668,  Father  Diego  Luis  de  Ca.;  Vitor^s,  a  Spanish  Jesuit,  ac- 
companied by  several  other  religiois  of  his  order,  entered  and 
converted  so  many,  that,  in  1671,  tho  principal  inhabitants  put 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  Catholic  king.  At  the 
landing  of  Father  de  San  Vitor^s,  these  islands  were  called 
Marian  Islands,  in  honor  of  Mariana  of  Austria,  queen  of  Spain. 
At  last,  on  the  8th  of  September,  1681,  Anthony  de  Saravia 
received  the  oath  of  fidelity  of  the  governors  and  principal 
officers  of  the  island  of  Guahan,  and  the  others  soon  after  fol- 
lowed its  example.  Father  de  San  Vitor^s  had  previously,  in 
1612,  bedewed  the  isle  of  Guahan  with  his  blood,  and  thus 
crowned  hia  apostolic  career  by  a  glorious  martyrdom. 


LadroDc 


i', 


i68z. 

The  Sieur  de  la  Salle  descends  the  Mississippi  to  the  sea,  and 
takes  possession  in  the  name  of  the  Most  Christian  king  of  all 
the  countries  watered  by  that  great  river,  giving  them  the 
name  of  Louisiana.  This  province,  which  now  forms  a  govern- 
ment independent  of  that  of  New  France,  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River,  which  empties  into 
the  Mississippi. 

The  same  year  two  Frenchmen,  settlers  of  New  France, 
named  des  Groselliers  and  Radisson,  discovered  the  Bourbon 


Lonlilanti 


Bourbon 
BWer. 


'it 


f^«IH 


--"•>.c.S.<*?^1'&?  w^^'tl^^.ijV 


60 


mSTORT  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


ii', 


and  St.  Teresa  rivers,  which  empty  together  in  a  little  bay  on 
the  west  side  of  Hudson's  Bay,  at  56°  N.  The  English  call  the 
bay  Port  Nelson,  pretending  that  Nelson,  Henry  Hudson's  pilot, 
discovered  it  in  1611,  and  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the 
English  crown  ;  but  this  is  not  likely. 

1684. 


fM» 


A  Japanese  ship,  sent  by  the  emperor  of  Japan  to  explore  all 
the  country  of  Yesso,  f  itorod  the  channel  supposed  to  separate 
the  isle  of  ^iian-  ■  r  of  Matsumay  from  the  continent  of 
Yesso.  The  \  '  ibserving  that  the  current  always  ran 
north,  while  fi'.ni  ii:H  ir.  .-tof  Father  de  Angelis  that  west  of 
Yesso  always  r  uoutL,  r  ncluded,  as  that  missionary  had, 
that  the  sea  communicates  \  ..  another.  Since  that  time,  but 
in  what  year  is  not  stated,  another  Japanese  vessel  was  sent 
out  with  the  same  object,  and  the  commander,  perceiving  a 
large  continent,  ran  up  to  it,  and  wintered  in  a  harbor  which  he 
found.  On  his  return  he  reported  that  the  land  stretched  far 
away  to  the  northeast,  and  he  conjectured  that  it  was  the  con- 
tinent of  America. 
KimtMbtiki.  Since  the  last  discoveries  of  the  Russians,  it  is  believed  that 
the  land  of  Yesso  is  the  southern  part  of  Eamtschatka,  which 
forms  one  mainland  with  Siberia.  Some,  however,  place  Kamt- 
scbatka  northeast  of  Yesso,  which  does  not  seem  to  agree  with 
what  the  Russians  say,  that  the  southern  part  of  this  great 
country  is  inhabited  by  the  Eurilskis,  originally  Japanese,  and 
tributaries  of  the  emperor  of  Japan. 


Pdaot 
lilMda. 


1696. 

Ou  the  28th  of  December,  in  this  year,  some  unknown  sav- 
ages landed  on  Samal,  one  of  the  Pintados  islands,  depending 
on  the  Philippines.  They  had  been  driven  there  by  a  storm. 
They  found  two  women  of  their  nation,  shipwrecked  there  some 
years  before,  and  one  of  them  had  already  been  obliged  to  land 
in  the  same  way  on  Carageua  Island,  near  Mindanao.  It  was 
ascertained  from  them  that  the  islands  were  called  Palaos  ; 
that  they  were  thirty-two  in  number  ;  and  they  gave  their 
names,  size,  find  distance  apart.  They  lie  east  of  the  Philip- 
pines, and  northeast  of  the  Moluccas.    It  was  at  first  believed 


CHRONOLOaiCAL  TABLES. 


At 


that  it  was  one  of  thcHc  iHlands  that  a  Spanish  captain  saw  in 
1686,  and  called  Caroline,  in  honor  of  Charles  II.,  king  of  Spain, 
and  which  others  have  called  St.  Barnabas  Island,  from  its 
being  discovered  on  the  day  assigned  for  the  festival  of  that 
martyr;  but  the  sequel  showed  this  to  be  an  eriui-.  The  lan- 
guage of  the  islanders  in  question  is  very  different  from  that  of 
the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Philippines,  and  even  from  that 
of  the  Marian  Islands,  which  are  nearer,  and  are  the  Ladronea, 
or  Archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus.  Their  pronunciation  approaches 
that  of  the  Arabs.  They  have  been  called  the  New  Philippines, 
but  attempts  made  in  1710  and  ITU  to  explore  them  failed,  and 
cost  the  lives  of  several  Jesuits  who  perished,  some  at  sea, 
others  as  they  landed  on  islands  of  the  group. 


PdtM 


1700. 


The  name  of  New  Islands  has  been  given  to  several 
first  made  known  in  this  year,  and  situated  at  51°  a^''  62^'  : 
about  fifty  or  fifvy-five  leagues  N.  N.  E.  of  tlie  Straus  >  '"  '> 
Maire.  The  Maurepas  and  St.  Louis,  vessels  of  the  India  Co^ii- 
pany,  starting  from  Staten  Land  in  1107  and  170*^  )aF*''d 
along  the  southern  part  of  these  lands.  The  St.  Lo  .d  jven 
anchored  on  the  eastern  side,  and  got  water  from  a  pond  a 
short  disvance  from  the  seashore.  This  water  was  somewhat 
reddish  and  stale,  but  good  for  the  sea.  In  1711  the  St.  Jean 
Baptiste,  Captain  Doublet,  of  Havre  de  Grace,  coasted  them 
nearer  than  had  been  previously  done,  and  seeking  to  enter  a 
pretty  large  opening,  which  he  perceived  in  the  middle,  he 
found  several  small  hidden  islands  almost  at  the  surface  of  the 
water,  which  compelled  him  to  steer  off.  This  group  of  islands 
is  the  same  that  Fouquet  of  St.  Malo  discovered  and  called  the 
Anican  Islands,  from  the  name  of  the  merchant  who  fitted  out 
his  vessels. 

The  northern  part  of  these  lands  was  discovered  on  the  16th 
of  July,  1708,  by  Captain  Pere  of  St.  Malo,  commanding  the 
Assomption,  whose  name  he  gave  to  this  coast.  He  ran  along 
it  twice  to  explore  it  more  accurately,  and  estimated  it  to  be 
fifty  leagues  E.  S.  E.  and  W.  N.  W.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  these  are  the  same  islands  discovered  by  Sir  Richard 
Hawkins  in  1593.    This  navigator,  being  east  of  the  Desert 


ndfl  1.  .    ,  >r  Aiil> 
our  bJMdik 


J! 


I 


.    3 


II 


i 


1 5 


',i 


HIBTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


r 


W 


can  IiliDdn 


SfbaM'i 


H«w,  or  Ani.  Toast,  Of  coast  of  the  Patagonians,  at  60°  S.,  was  driven  by  a 
storm  on  au  unknown  land,  which  he  coasted  for  sixty 
leagues. 

Some  have  believed  these  lands  to  be  identical  with  Sebald's 
Islands,  and  that  the  three  which  bear  that  name  arc  laid  down 
on  the  maps  from  conjecture,  in  default  of  more  perfect  know- 
ledge, but  the  ship  Incarnation  of  St.  Malo  saw  the  islands  in 
nil  in  very  clear  weather.  They  are  really  three  small 
islands,  about  half  a  league  long,  ranged  in  a  triangle.  The 
vessel  went  within  three  leagues  of  them,  and  saw  nothing  of 
any  other  lands,  although  the  sky  was  very  serene.  This 
proves  that  they  are  at  least  seven  or  eight  leagues  from  the 
New  Lands.  M.  do  Beauchfine  stopped  in  1701  at  Sebald's 
Islands,  without  seeing  any  thing  of  the  New  Islands,  of  which 
the  western  part  is  still  unknown. 

1701. 

c»ii(brDi».  Father  Eiiscbius  Francis  Kino,  a  German  Jesuit,  having 
started  in  1698  from  the  missions  of  Cinaloa  and  Sonora,  in 
New  Mexico,  advanced  northward  along  the  sea,  to  tho  moun- 
tain of  Santa  Clara,  and  seeing  that  the  coast  turned  from  east 
to  west,  instead  of  following  it,  as  he  had  done  hitherto,  struck 
inland,  marching  from  S.  E.  to  N.  W.  In  1699  he  discovered 
the  Rio  Azul  (Blue  River),  which,  after  receiving  the  waters  of 
the  Hila,  bears  its  own  from  east  to  west  to  the  great  River  of 
the  North,  or  Rio  Colorado.  lie  then  crossed  this  river,  and  in 
nOl  found  himself  in  California.  He  there  learned  that  thirty 
leagues  from  where  he  was,  the  Rio  Colorado  emptied  into  a 
great  bay  on  the  west  coast  of  California,  which  is  thus  sep- 
arated from  New  Mex'co  only  by  this  river. 

MioiHtpi.  The  same  year  tho  Sieur  le  Moyno  d'Iberville,  a  Canadian 
gentleman,  captain  of  a  ship  of  the  line,  discovered  the  mouth 
of  the  Micissipi,  which  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle  had  missed  in 
1684. 

1716. 

Thibet  Father  Hippolytc  Desideri,  a  Florentine  Jesuit,  enters  the 

second  Thibet.  This  missionary  started  August  17,  1715,  from 
Laduk,  the  residence  of  the  king  of  Great  Thibet,  discovered  in 
1G24  by  Father  de  Andrada,  and  arrived  at  Lassa,  capital  of 


IS 


li 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLES. 


63 


the  second  Tliibet,  Murcli  18,  1710.     Tliero  is,  in  fact,  but  one     Twut 
Tliibct,  called  also  Toubot,  Tungout,  Barantola,  and  Boutan 
When  Father  do  Andrada  entered  it  in  1624,  the  country  was 
subject  to  a  very  powerful  king,  supposed  to  be  of  the  race  of 
the  famous  Prester-Jean,  or  at  least  his  successor.     Since  then 
the  Grand  Lama  ims  been,  as  it  were,  sovereign  of  Thibet,  and 
makes  his  residence  at  Lassu,  or  Lasa,  the  most  sacred  spot  in 
tlio  land,  from  its  grand  pagoda,  which  is  visited  from  all  parts. 
Tliibet  now  depends  on  China.     It  is  also  sometimes  called  the 
kingdom  of  the  Eluths. 

J7i8. 

The  following  discovery  has  every  look  of  being  imaginary.  Lewiabiud. 
A  merchantman,  commanded  by  tlie  Sieur  Perrin,  sailing  this 
year  from  Rochelle  for  Quebec,  was  wrecked  ;  one  John  Baptist 
Loysel,  of  Rennes,  in  Brittany,  escaped  to  an  unknown  island, 
where  he  was  well  received  and  treated  by  the  inhabitants,  and 
died  about  1732.  An  Englisii  ship,  it  is  added,  sailing  from 
England  in  1733  for  New  Georgia,  was  also  driven  by  a  storm 
on  tiie  same  island.  Lewis,  tiie  captain,  was  taken  to  a  cabin, 
where  an  inscription  cut  witli  a  knife  informed  him  of  the  ad- 
ventures of  Loysel,  whose  clothes  and  grave  were  shown  him. 
Nothing  is  said  of  the  position  of  tliis  island,  to  wiiich  Captain 
Lewis  gave  his  name  after  taking  possession.  Loysel,  in  the 
inscription  of  which  I  have  spoken,  says  that  it  seemed  to  him 
to  be  about  twenty  leagues  in  extent ;  that  he  believes  mines 
will  be  found  there  ;  that  it  produces  several  precious  plants, 
and  has  a  very  fertile  soil. 


1720. 

Two  vessels,  full  of  unknown  Indians,  landed  on  Guahan, 
the  largest  of  the  Ladrone  Islands,  at  two  diflfevent  points,  one 
on  the  19th,  the  other  on  the  21st  of  June.  They  had  started 
togetlier  from  an  island  which  they  called  Sarreslop,  to  go  to 
another,  called  U16e.  After  a  leisurely  examination,  it  was 
found  that  their  country  was  a  considerable  archipelago,  which 
included  the  island  named  Caroline  in  168G,  and  the  island  of 
St.  Barnaby,  and  that  the  group  is  divided  into  five  provinces, 
t'uther  de  Cantova,  a  Spanish  Jesuit,  drew  up  a  map,  which  is 


Otrolln* 
Islaodi. 


i 


II 


I 


li 


64 


IIIHTOBY  OF  NEW   FRANCB. 


OwoHn*  to  lit!  round  in  tlio  oightefnth  volume  or  the  LeUres  Edifianlea  et 
Curieutes  de»  MiMiont  dela  Cvmpagnie  (le  J^tniK.  lie  places  all 
thi'HO  mlands  between  6"  and  11°  N.,  so  that  thny  run  over  80" 
of  longitude  east  of  Cape  Eapiritu  Santo.  There  are  many 
blackR  among  these  iulanders,  who  are  Hupponed  to  come  from 
Now  Guinea,  mt'stizocs,  and  whiten.  TLcBe  arc  supposed  to 
be  descended  from  some  Spaniards,  who  wern  put  ashore  on 
one  of  these  islands  in  1560,  for  conspiring  against  their  com- 
mander on  a  voyage  from  Mexico  to  the  Philippine  Islands. 
In  1122  they  were  preparing  in  the  Ladrones  to  explore  these 
islands,  to  which  the  name  of  Caroline  Islands  was  given, 
but  we  have  no  intelligence  of  the  result  of  the  enterprise. 
It  is  pretended  that  there  are  silvtr  mines  in  one  nf  these 
islands. 

Settlement  of  New  Georgia  by  Mr.  Oglethorpe,  in  the  namo 
(if  the  king  of  England,  between  Carolina  and  Spanish  Florida. 
All  this  country  was  comprised  in  French  Florida,  which  ex- 
tended northward  to  Charleston,  in  Carolina.  This  new  colony 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Savannah  River,  and  on  the 
south  by  the  Altamaha,  and  it  is  only  sixty  or  seventy  English 
miles  in  length  on  the  coast,  between  81°  30'  and  82°  46'  N., 
but  it  widens  as  it  goes  inland. 


NiwOeorgli. 


Aiucrtl 
Land*. 


»738-»739' 
In  the  month  of  July,  1788,  two  of  the  French  India  Com- 
pany's ships,  commanded  by  the  Sieur  Bouvet,  sailed  from 
I'Orient  to  discover  the  Austral  Lands  ;  and  on  the  Ist  of  Jan- 
uary, n39,  this  captain  descried,  in  latitude  54°  S.  and  longi- 
tude 27°  to  28°,  a  very  high  land,  covered  with  snow  and  very 
foggy,  which  he  called  Cape  Consolation.  The  fogs  and  ice 
prevented  his  landing  or  coasting  near  enough  to  make  out 
whether  it  was  an  island  or  a  continent.  He  only  remarked 
that  it  extended  eight  or  ten  leagues  E.  N.  E. 


tflMidi  oorUi 
of  Jipao. 


•739- 
In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1740,  information  reached  St. 
Petersburg  that  Captain  Spanberg,  sailing  north  of  Japan,  had 
discovered  thirty-five  islands  of  different  sizes,  the  inhabitants 


OHRONOLOOIOAL  TABLEB. 


M 


of  which,  BH  Hooii  an  they  purcoivcd  him,  sent  out  nix  boatH  to  iiUmii  nonb 
reconnoitre.  Ho  landed  on  one  of  the  ialaudi,  and  was  received  '  ""^^ 
by  the  people  witii  great  niarka  of  joy.  He  states  in  hin  narra- 
tive that  these  people  Htrongly  resembled  the  Japanese,  aud 
showed  him  a  gr;  at  quantity  of  gold  and  copper.  At  the  same 
time  he  sent  the  czarina  some  of  their  coins.  The  exact  posi- 
tion of  these  islands  is  not  given 

Vol.  I— 0  ■  ' 


\ 


n 


,   jpiiiin»nit^<iiiii>w*wig 


k 


CRITICAL  LIST  OF  AUTHORS 

WHOM  I  HAVE  CONSULTED  IN  COMPOSING  THIS  WORK. 


As  we  have  not  yet  any  complete  consecutive  history  of  Mew 
France,  and  the  most  popular  relations  of  that  great  country 
are  neither  the  most  exact  nor  the  most  faithful,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  cosmographers,  geographers,  with  geographical  or 
historical  dictionaries,  speak  very  incorrectly  of  it.  It  is  sin- 
gular, however,  that  the  older  books  are  generally  less  disfig- 
ured by  errors  than  modern  ones.  It  is  true  that  when  they 
appeared  the  French  North  American  colonies  were  of  little 
importance ;  but  making  all  due  allowances,  they  spoke  more 
exactly  than  iheir  successors,  who  attempted  to  correct  them. 
The  former  had  before  them  only  a  few  memoirs,  whose  authors 
confined  themselves  mainly  to  stating  what  they  had  seen  or 
learned  from  eye-witnesses,  and  could  only  be  accused  of  some 
exaggeration. 

Thus  the  great  Atlas,  printed  at  Amsterdam  in  1677  by  John 
Blaeu,  having  been  composed  principally  from  the  India  Occi- 
dentalis  of  John  de  Laet,  who  himself  had  only  followed  in  the 
main  John  Verazani,  Jacques  Cartier,  Samuel  de  Champlain, 
RenS  de  Laudoimiere,  and  Mark  Lescarbot,  all  authors,  com- 
monly speaking,  quite  trustworthy,  was  for  its  time  the  best 
that  could  be  given.  It  is  true  that  previous  works,  such  as  Le 
Theatre  du  Monde,  by  John  and  William  Blaeu  (Paris,  1649- 
55)  ;  Del  Arcano  del  Mare  (Florence,  1630),  of  Robert  Dudley, 
Duke  of  Northumberland  and  Earl  of  Warwick ;  the  AHa>^,  of 
Gerard  Mercator ;  the  World,  of  Davity ;  the  Geography  of 
Thevet  {Cosmographie  Universelle,  Paris,  1575),  &c.,  either 
because  these  authors  wished  to  be  too  concise,  or  failed  to 
study  all  the  accessible  authorities  on  the  subject,  are  much 
more  imperfect,  botii  in  the  maps  and  in  the  text;  but  as  they 
gave  little  information,  they  could  not  load  into  great  errors. 


Karly 

writers 

nioro 

correct. 


Blaeu'r 
Great  Atlas. 


Qrnud 
Tlieatre  du 

Monde. 
Arcnno  del 

Mure. 

Mkhcatdu. 
I'avity. 

TlIFVKT. 


if 


'Ji>jS*« 


69 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


Thomas 
cormiille. 


!» 


GKOD.^K- 

VILLK. 


KoBBi and 

LA  Marti- 

NIEBK. 


Corneille,  in  his  Geographical  Dictionary,  wishing  to  add  to 
what  the  Abb6  Baudrand  and  Maty  had  said  of  French  America, 
followed  chiefly  the  Voyages  of  the  Baron  de  la  Hontan,  a  sorry 
guide,  as  we  shall  soon  see ;  nevertheless,  as  he  aimed  chiefly 
to  show  the  difierent  nations  inhabiting  this  great  continent,  and 
has  greatly  abridged  La  Hontan's  account,  it  happens  by  a  kind 
of  chance  that  he  drew  generally  from  what  is  most  passable  in 
that  traveller,  so  that  the  article  on  Canada  is  not  the  most  de- 
fective in  his  dictionary.  This  is  not  the  case  with  several  other 
special  articles,  where  he  did  not  select  his  authorities  judi- 
ciously. As  the  Mississippi  is  to  Louisiana  what  tho  Nile  is  to 
Egypt,  we  cannot  conceive  how  the  author,  speaking  of  Louisi- 
ana, never  mentions  the  river,  and  in  his  article  on  Ine  river 
does  not  even  name  Louisiana. 

In  volume  VL  of  Geudreviile's  Atlas  (published  by  Honnor6 
and  Chatelain,  Amsterdam,  1719),  we  find  first  a  general  disser- 
tation on  America,  containing  faults  in  history  and  geography 
which  would  not  be  pardoned  in  a  school-boy.  Is  it  tolerable. 
For  example,  in  a  man  who  publishes  a  complete  course  of 
geography,  at  such  expense,  to  say  that  Guadeloupe,  which  he 
calls  Gardoloupe,  is  about  ten  leagues  from  the  Bahamas  ?  The 
Hubsetiuent  dissertation  on  Canada  is  ndt  more  accurate  ;  it  is 
merely  a  poor  abridgment  of  La  Hontan's  memoirs,  in  wliich 
you  easily  detect  llie  uncouth,  and  often  barbarous  style,  and 
unbecoming  expression  of  that  traveller.  Indeed,  it  is  regarded 
as  a  fact  that  Geudrevilie  retduclied  the  last  edition  of  his  Voy- 
agee.  Lastly,  there  is  a  third  dissertation  on  Louysiana,  which 
is  80  superficial,  and  so  confounds  truth  and  falsehood,  that  only 
tlifsc  who  know  the  country  well  can  tell  his  meaning.  Proper 
names  are  entirely  disfigured  there. 

Mr.  Robbe  and  Mr.  de  la  Martiniere  divide  New  France  into 
two  provinces,  namely,  Canada  proper,  and  the  province  of 
Saguenay.  This  division  is  imaginary,  and  badly  imagined  at 
that.  Ist.  In  placing  in  the  province  of  Saguenay  the  city  of 
Quebec,  the  capital  of  French  Canada.  2d.  In  encircling  this 
pretended  province  of  Saguenay  by  that  of  Canada,  which  Mr. 
Robbe  extends  below  the  Saguenay  River  to  the  Gulf  of  St 
Lawrence,  and  above  Quebec  beyond  the  lakes. 

Air.  de  la  Martiniere  is  mucli  fuller  than  Corneille  in  all  the 


i! 


LIST  OP  AUTHORS.  09 

RrticlcH  relating  to  my  history,  and  almost  always  cites  his  RoBBEnnd 
authorities,  but  he  is  generally  not  happy  in  his  selection.  The  nibbb. 
Abb6  Lenglet  du  Fresnoy  led  him  into  error  by  dividing  Canada 
into  Eastern  Part  and  Western,  or  Louysiana.  This  division 
supposes  the  latter  province  to  lie  west  of  Canada,  which  is 
wrong,  since  it  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Illinois  River, 
vhich  empties  into  the  Mississippi  at  39°  N.,  the  country  to  the 
north  belonging  to  New  France ;  whence  it  follows  that 
Louysiana  is  south  and  southwest  of  Canada,  Nor  do  I  know 
on  what  ground  the  geographer  of  the  king  of  Spain  reckons 
Norimbegua  among  the  provinces  belonging  to  the  English  on 
the  continent.  What  was  formerly  so  called  is  between  Acadia 
and  New  England ;  now  that  great  country  was  not  ceded  to 
Great  Britain,  as  he  supposes,  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht. 

He  then  gives  us  a  table  of  the  Indian  nations  of  the  Eastern 
part  of  Canada,  that  is  to  say,  of  all  known  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. This  table  is  copied  from  La  Hontan,  and  needs  a  good 
errata,  as  does  what  he  draws  from  the  same  source  on  the 
natural  history  of  the  country,  the  manners  and  character  of 
tho  people  inhabiting  it,  the  condition  of  the  French  colony,  the 
revenues  and  power  of  the  governor-general  and  intendant.  In 
the  article  on  Cape  Breton,  M..  de  la  Martinif^re  justly  censures 
the  Abbe  Baudrand,  who  had  asserted  that  Gaspe  was  the  true 
name  of  that  island.  But  in  1730,  when  he  printed  this  volume 
of  his  dictionary  containing  this  article,  he  should  have  knc  wn 
that  it  had  changed  its  old  name  to  Isle  Royale. 

The  Abb6  Lenglet  du  Fresnoy,  in  the  first  edition  of  his 
Methode  pour  kudier  la  Oeographie,  had  said  that  Carolina  owes 
its  name  to  Charles  II.,  king  of  Great  Britain,  in  whose  reign 
and  by  whose  consent  this  colony  was  founded  by  some  English 
noblemen.  Mr.  la  Martiniere  reproached  him  with  having  fallen 
into  an  error,  and  he  was  so  docile  as  to  correct  this  alleged 
fault,  and  state  in  a  second  editioa  that  it  was  so  named  in 
honor  of  Charles  IX.,  king  of  France  :  but  he  can,  with  all 
safety,  return  to  his  first  statement.  Except  the  southern 
part  of  Carolina,  this  country  never  belonged  to  France.  The 
confusion  arises  from  a  fort  on  the  river  May,  built  by  Mr.  de 
Laudonniere,  and  now  called  San  Matheo.  The  French  colony, 
founded  under  Charles  IX.,  and  comprising  the  southern  part  of 


•i' 

i!  f 

I 


M 


ni 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


Hs 


RoBBB  and  English  Carolina,  the  present  New  Georgia,  San  Mateo,  St.  Au- 

NIE8I.     gustine,  and  all  held  by  the  Spaniards  on  that  coast  as  far  as  Cap 

Frangois,  was  never  called  by  Champlaiu  (Mr.  de  la  Martiui6ro 

to  the  contrary  notwithstanding),  nor  by  any  French  author, 

any  thing  but  French  Florida,  New  France,  or  Western  France. 

Mr.  la  Martinicre  is  also  mistaken  in  saying  that  Mr.  de 
Ribaut  had  built  a  fort  on  river  May,  and  gave  it  the  name  of 
Charles  ;  the  fact  is,  that  Ribaut  entered  river  May,  and  set  up 
a  column,  with  the  arms  of  France,  but  did  not  stop  there.  He 
went  further  north,  and  entering  another  river,  which  he  called 
Port  Royal,  built  a  fortress  tliere,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
of  Charles-Fort.  This  river  is  in  English  Carolina.  Two  years 
after,  Mr.  de  Laudonniere  built  la  Caroline  on  river  May,  which 
never  was  in  English  Carolina,  and  consequently  could  not  give 
it  a  name. 

I  am  glad  also  to  Lote  here  that  no  Spaniard  or  other  Euro- 
pean having  appeared  in  that  country  before  the  French,  led 
there  by  Ribaut  in  1562,  it  is  surprising  that  the  learned  geog- 
rapher of  the  Catholic  king  pretends  il'at  the  Spaniards  had  a 
right  to  treat  these  Frencii  in  Florida  as  pirates,  whou  they 
held  a  commission  from  the  king  their  master,  and  that  no  re- 
proach could  be  made  to  them  had  they  treated  them  as  piisoaers 
cf  war.  In  the  first  place,  tliere  is  a  glaring  contradiction  here, 
for  if  the  Spaniard  \  had  a  right  to  regard  these  Flo-  ,da  French- 
men as  pirates,  they  could  not  be  reproached  with  tr-^U'' jj 
them  as  such.  In  the  second  place,  on  wiiat  ground  rould  tlioy 
treat  as  pirates  subjects  spr^  .  v  their  own  sovoKMgn  to  a 
country  which  the  French  Im'.  i!  st  disiovered,  and  where  no 
nation  had  settlec  before  them?  VViui  1;  i  >■  Tgh  that  it  pleased 
the  Spaniards  II.  call  a',..,  st  ali  I>.'rf!)  VniT  :,  Florida,  to  treat 
as  usurpers  and  pirates  all  who  settieu  m  any  portion  of  an  im- 
mense country,  of  which  tlK?y  did  not  know  the  tenth  part,  and 
where  they  had  never  had  a  settlement? 

I  might  extend  my  remarks  to  many  articles  in  tlio  new 
Dictionnaire  Geographique,  wiicre  there  are,  nevertheless,  many 
excellent  things.  In  general,  the  author  is  very  well  acquainted 
with  the  countries  of  which  I  write  the  history.  Yet  a  mere 
examination  of  the  map  would  have  prevented  his  saying,  for 
example,  that  Lac  du  St.  Sacremcnt  (Lake  George)  receives 


It 


LIST  OF  AUTHORS. 


fi 


u 


the  waters  of  Lake  Cliamplain,  when,  on  the  contrary,  it  is  the  Robbb  and 
latter  that  receives  the  waters  of  the  former  lake.  He  does  not  niw«. 
seem  better  acquainted  with  the  great  lakes  of  Canada,  and  errs 
in  placing  Lake  Champlain  in  the  Iroquois  country.  What 
deceived  him  is,  that  tliis  lake  is  formed  by  the  Sorel  River, 
formerly  called  the  river  of  the  Iroquois  ;  but  it  was  so  called 
only  because  the  Iroquois  often  descended  by  that  river  into  the 
French  colony.  I  have  also  been  much  surprised  to  find  two 
articles  on  Michillimakinac  and  Missilli  makinac,  which  mean 
the  same  thing.  The  error  comes  from  the  attempt  of  some 
authors  to  soften  the  real  word  Michillimakinac,  by  writing 
Missillimakinac. 

M.  de  Lille  has  made  many  researches  in  his  Atlas,  and  some 
happy  discoveries  ;  but  his  map  of  Canada  is  very  defective  : 
that  of  Louisiana  is  somewhat  less  so,  yet  he  had  reasoi  to  be 
satisfied  with  neither,  and  I  know  that  %t  his  death  he  was 
taking  steps  in  earnest  to  give  us  better  ones. 

The  article  on  Canada  in  the  two  last  editions  of  the  Historical    Moribi. 
Dictionary  of  Moreri,  and  that  on  Louisiana,  are  very  nearly 
exact,  and  they  would  lack  little  had  the  editors  profited  more 
by  the  memoirs  given  them.    The  article  on  Carolina  and  some 
others  are  entirely  disfigured. 


M.  1>B 

Lille. 


De  Qallorum  Expeditione  in  Ploridam,  &  clade  ab  Hibpanis  non 
lEinuB  injuste,  quam  immaniter  ipdB  illata,  anno  M.D.LXV,  brevis 
Historia. 

This  relation  is  derived  in  a  great  measure  from  a  French 
account,  apparently  by  one  Nicholas  Challus.  It  is  printed  at 
the  end  of  a  work  of  Jerome  Benzoni  (pp.  427-410),  translated 
from  the  Italian  into  Latin  by  Urban  Chauveton,  under  the  title 
Novce  Novi  Orbis  Historia;,  Genevce,  apud  Eustathium  Vignon, 
MDLXXVin.  ItisfoUowedby  a^rtV/Discoursf^e/oJ^/or/'  * 
which  says  about  the  same  thing.  A  new  edition  of  this  k 
appeared  at  Geneva  in  1600. 

HiBToiRE  Notable  de  la  Floride,  BiTufiE  eb  Indes  OcaoENTAi  t  on- 
tenant  Icb  trois  voyr-ges,  faits  en  icelle  par  certains  Oapitaines  &  Motes 
Francois,  descritB  par  le  Capitaine  Laudonniere,  qui  y  a  comraandfi 


CaALLUS. 
BjSKZONI. 

153(j. 


Laudon- 

NIERK. 
1586. 


*  This  should  be  "  Supplicia  Libelli  exemphim,  Carulo  IX.  Kegi  oblati 

a  viduis,"  etc.,  pp.  471-477.    There  iu  no  Freneli  tract  in  tlio  voIiiiul 


m 


it 


m 


Laddok- 

HIIBS, 


Thkodobx 
01  Bbt. 

1590. 


1   ■ 

i  1 


1  ! 

ii   i 


tJOLU  01 
LA8  MKB^a, 

15B5. 


4' I 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 

I'esimce  d'uu  an  troia  moys :  it  laquelle  a  oste  adjoustu  un  qaatrlesmo 
Toyago  fait  par  le  CapitAino  Oourgues.  Miae  en  lumiere  par  M.  Ba- 
sanier  Qentil-homme  fran(^ia  Matliematlcien.    8o.,  Paria,  1G80. 

Whatever  the  Sieur  de  Laudonniere  saw  with  his  own  eyes 
may  be  relied  upou.  I  will  show  hereafter  what  is  to  be  thought 
of  the  rest. 

In  the  first  volume  of  the  India  Occidentalis,  printed  at  tho 
expense  of  Theodore  de  Bry  in  1590,  is  : 

1.  Brevis  Nabratio  eorvm,  q,vx  in  Florida  AMERiCiB  Provincia 
Oallis  accidenmt,  secunda  in  illam  Navigatione,  duce  Renato  de  Lau- 
dAniere,  claaaia  prasfecto,  Anno  M.DLxiii.  .  .  Additae  figures  et  inoola- 
rum  eioonea  ibidem  ad  vivum  expreaaee  ;  brevia  item  Declaratio  Religi- 
onia  rituum,  vivendique  ratinne  ipaonim.  Auctore  lacobo  le  Moyne  cui 
cognomen  de  Mor^uea,  Lauduniorum  in  ea  Navigatione  aequuto.  Nunc 
primum  gallico  aermone  a  Theodoro  de  Bry,  Leodiense  in  lucem  edita, 
Latio  vero  donata  a  C.  C.  A. 

2.  Libtillua,  aine  Epiatola  aupplicatoria  Regi  Oallorum  Carolo  IX.  eivadem 
nominis,  oblata  per  viduaa,  orphanoe,  ooguatoa,  afflnes  &  ipai  Franci» 
Occidentalia  Regi  subditos,  qnorum  conaauguinei  per  Hispanos  in  ea 
GalliiB  antarcticte  parte,  quae  vulgu  Floridae  nomen  inueri't,  crudeliter 
trucidati  perierunt.    Anno  156.?. 

8.  De  quarta  Qallorvm  in  Floridam  navigatione  avb  Gourgaeaio.     Anno 

1567.    The  author  ia  unlcnown. 
4.  Parergon  continens  qvaedam,  quae  ad  praecedentia  narrationia  elvcidati 

onem  non  ervnt  forsan  invtilia. 

Thif  subject  has  been  treated  with  more  order  and  at  sufiS- 
cient  lenj^th  by  Mark  Lescarbot,  of  whom  I  shall  soon  speak, 
and  more  briefly  by  Champlain,  after  uhese  same  memoirs.  But 
these  two  authors  have  not  given  to  French  Florida  the  name 
of  Antarctic  France,  as  was  done  by  the  author  of  the  Suppli- 
cation ad(irP'"'ed  to  Charles  IX. 

The  melauciioly  catastrophe  of  the  French  of  Port  Oaro 
line,  after  the  capture  )f  that  place  by  Peter  Menendez,  has 
been  relat  d  in  one  form  in  the  works  I  have  cited,  and  in  a 
very  difft"  jnt  manner  by  Doctor  Solis  de  las  Moras,  a  brother- 
in-law  of  Menendez,  who  accompanied  him  on  his  expedition. 
His  account,  which  had  remaiued  in  manuscript,  is  inserted 
"itire  in  the  Ensayo  Cronoiogico  para  la  Historia  de  la  Florida 
^pp.  85-90),  published  at  Madrid  in  1123,  of  which  I  shall 
speak  iu  its  order. 


t4-.  :.  I 


I 


■^^**« 


LIST  OP  AUTHORS. 


73 


\\ 


La  Fi^BIDA  DKIi  YNCA,  O  HiSTORIA  del   ADELANTADO   HeHNANDO  DB  OAHOlLABiO 


Soto,  Governador  y  Capitan  General  del  Reyno  de  la  Florida,  y  de  otroB 


DK  LA  VkQA. 
1603. 


horoicos  caualleroe,  Espafioles  e  Indies,  escrita  per  el  Ynca  Garcilasso 
ilo  )a  Vega,  capitan  de  bu  Magostad,  natural  de  la  gran  ciudad  del 
Cozco,  caboQa  de  ios  Reynos  y  prouincias  del  Peru.  Dirigida  al  serenlsBimo 
Principe,  Duquo  de  Broganija.  En  Lisbona.  Impresso  por  Pedro  Craa- 
beeck.  Ano  1805.  8o. 
The  iiam?  translated  into  French  by  Pierre  Richelet.  2  vols.,  18o.  Paris :  Biohilit. 
Cloutisr.    1670. 

This  work  is  esteemed  for  tlie  manuer  in  which  it  is  written 
in  Spanish,  and  also  for  the  mutter  itself,  that  is  to  say,  for  the 
succession  and  order  of  the  expeditions  of  Fernando  de  Soto, 
and  his  successor  Luis  de  Moscoso ;  but  the  author  has  evi- 
dently exaggerated  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  Floridians. 
They  are  now  well  known  to  the  French  in  Canada  and  Louisi 
ana  ;  and  although  we  admit  that  in  De  Soto's  time  they  were 
much  more  populous  than  at  present,  as  has  been  the  case  with 
all  tribes  on  the  continent,  we  know  beyond  doubt  that  they 
have  never  been  near  so  rich  or  powerful  as  t'lp  historian  repre- 
sents them. 

HiSTOHIA  QENKBAL  DE  LOS  HKCHOS  DE  LOS  CaSTELLANOS  EV  LAS  ISLAb  I  Antonio  DK 

Tierra  Firme  del  Mar  Ooeano,  escrita  par  Antonio  de  Horr.^ra,  Coronistt.       krreba. 
Mayor  de  su  Md.  de  las  Indiaa,  y  su  Ck)ronista  de  Cf  -i  '.uii    ...     Pcdio. 
En  Mad.  en  la  emplenta  real.    1601-1615. 

This  work  is  in  four  vol'imes,  which  comprise  eight  decades, 
but  only  two  volumes  issued  from  the  royal  press  in  1601.  The 
last  two  were  printed  at  Madrid  in  1615  by  Juan  de  la  Costa. 
A  new  edition  appeared  a  few  years  since,  merely  adding  a 
very  detailed  index,  which  was  wanting.  The  first  two  decades 
have  been  translated  into  French  anonymously.  The  Spanish 
historian  is  an  exact,  sensible,  judicious,  and  impartial  annalist. 
His  work  ends,  in  regard  to  Florida,  with  the  mission  of  the 
Dominicans  in  1549,  six  years  after  the  retreat  of  Luis  de  Mos- 
coso. 


it 
I 


\    ii 


In  the  third  volume  of  the  great  collection  of  John  Baptist    Ramubio. 
Ramusio  (folio,  Venice,  1606),  are  : 

1st.  DiSCOKSO  SOPUA  LA  TERRA  FERMA  DELL'  InDIE  OcCIDENTALI  DETTE 

de  Lauorador,  de  l?e  Bacchalaos  &  della  nuoua  Francia. 
It  is  of  little  importance. 


'i 


"f 


MJiiiiiilWjMillll'fWIif 


>  ' 


74  HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

V«BAiANi.  2d.  Al  Chribtianibbimo  Re  di  Francia,  Francesco  Primo,  Relatione 
di  Qiouanni  da  Verrazzano,  Fiorentino,  della  terra  per  lui  Bcuperta  in 
nome  dl  eua  Maeet^,  scrltta  in  Dieppa  il  dl  8  di  Luglio,  M.D.XXIIII. 

This  letter  gives  us  little  beyond  the  date  of  Verazani's  first 
voyage. 

8d.  DiscoReo  d'yn  oran  Capitano  di  Mare,  Frascesb,  del  Ltjooo  di 
Dieppa,  eopra  le  naoigationi  latto  alia  Terra  Nuova  dell'  Indie  Occiden- 
tali,  chiamata  la  nuova  Francia,  <la  gradi  40,  fine  a  gradl  47  Botto  il 
polo  artico,  &  Bopra  la  Terra  del  Braeil,  Guinea,  iBola  di  San  Lorenzo, 
&  quella  di  Sammatra,  fino  alle  quali  hanno  nauigato  le  Carauelle  & 
naui  Francese. 

Ramusio  sets  a  high  value  ou  this  piece,  and  regrets  that  he 
could  not  learn  its  author. 


Cabtiek.    4th.  Prima  relatione  di  Iacqceb  Carthier,  della  Terra  Ncova, 
detta  la  nuouu  Francia,  trouata  nell'  anno  1534. 

This  date  is  wrong,  as  Verazani's  first  voyage  was  certainly 
in  1523,  and  from  the  first  years  of  the  century,  Bretons,  Nor- 
mans, and  Basques  carried  on  fisheries  on  the  shores  of  New- 
foundland and  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  Yet  it  is  true  that 
Gartier  is  the  first  who  ascended  the  river. 


i    ' 


6th.   BREVB  &  BCCCINTA   NARRATIONE   DELLA   NAUIGATIONE   PATTA   PER 

ordine  della  Maestil  CbriBtianisBiina  all'  iBole  di  Canada,  Hochelaga, 
Saguenai  &  altre,  al  present^  dette  la  nuoua  Francia,  con  parti- 
colari  coBtumi  &  cerimonie  de  gli  habitant!. 

This  last  article  amounts  to  very  little.  Cartier  had  not  time 
I,)  study  well  nations  whose  language  he  did  not  know,  and 
with  whom  he  had  very  little  intercourse.  It  is  also  very  sur- 
prising that  this  navigator  applies  the  name  island  to  a  country, 
in  which  he  had  ascended  a  river  like  the  St.  Lawience  for  one 
hundred  and  eighty  leagues.  One.  of  his  works  was  printed  at 
Rouen,  in  1598,  in  8vo.,  with  this  title  :  Discoirs  dv  Voyage 
fait  par  le  Capitaine  Jacptes  Cartier  aux  terres-neufties  de  Canadas, 
November (jite,  Hoihelage,  Labrador,  &  pays  adjacens,  dite  nou- 
uelle  France,  aiiec  partiadieres  mceurs,  langage  et  ceremonies  des 
habitans  d'icelle.  A  Rouen,  de  Vimprimerie  de  Rapha'd  du  Petit 
Vat.,  ^c.    M.D.XC.VIir. 


m 


V. 


LIST  OP  AUTHORS. 


76 


HI8TORIA  NaTVRAL  T  moral  DE  lab  InDIAB,  em  qVE  8E  TRATAN  LAB  COBAB  De  AootTA. 

notables  dtil  cielo,  j  clerocntoB,  metales,  plantas  y  animali'B  dellas:  y 
I06  ritoe  y  ceremonial,  l^yes  y  gouierao  y  guerras  de  Ioh  IndioH,  Com- 
puesta  per  el  Padre  loxeph  de  Acoeta,  ReUgloBo  de  la  Compania  de 
lesuB.  Dlrigida  u  la  SercnigBinia  Infanta  Dona  leabela  Clara  Eugenia  de 
Austria.  80.  AfiolOOS.  ImprusHu  en  Madrid  en  casa  de  AlonBo  Martin. 
1  have  spoken  of  this  highly  esteemed  author  only  in  regard 
to  the  origin  of  the  Americuns. 

HiBTOIRB  DE  LA  NoUVELLE  FllANt'E,  CONTENANT  LEB  KAVIOATIONB,  D*-  LHOABBOT, 

couvertes  b  habitations  faites  par  leu  Frani^iB  es  Indes  Occidentalea  ' 

&  Nouvelle  France  boub  I'aveu  &  autorit^  de  noe  Kois  Tr^B  Chrfi- 
tieus,  and  les  nouvelles  fortunes  d'iceux  en  I'execution  de  ces  choaes 
depulB  cent  ans  jusqu'  a  hui :  en  qnoi  eet  compriBe  I'HiBtoire  morale, 
naturelle  et  geographique  de  la  dite  Province,  avec  les  tables  &  figures 
d'icelle,  par  Marc  Lescarbot,  Avocat  en  Parlement,  tSncoin  oculalre 
d'une  partie  des  chosea  y  recitees.    A  Paris,  chez  Jean  Milet,  sar  lea 
HegreB  de  la  grand'  Sale  du  Palais.    1600.    80. 
This  author  has  collected  with  much  care  all  that  had  been 
written  before  him  touching  the  first  discoveries  of  the  French 
in  America  ;  all  that  occurred  in  French  Florida  ;  the  expedition 
of  the  Chevalier  de  Villegagnon  to  Brazil  ;  and  the  first  settle- 
ment of  Acadia  by  Mr.  de  Monts.      He   seems  sincere,  well 
informed,  sensible,  and  impartial. 

Les  Voyages  de  la  Nowelle  France  Occidentale,  dicte  Canada,  chaiiplain, 
faite  par  le  Sr  de  Champlain,  XaintongeoiB,  Capitaine  ponr  le  Roy  en  ^^^h}^^'^' 
la  Marine  du  Ponant,  &  toutes  les  Deecouvertes,  qu'il  a  faites  en  ce 
pais  depuis  I'an  1603.  jusques  en  I'an  1639.  Ou  se  voit  comme  ce  pays  a 
este  premierement  deecouvert  par  les  Franfois  boub  I'authorite  de  noa 
Roys  tres-ChrestieuB  jusques  au  regnede  sa  Majeste  a  present  regnante 
Levis  XIIL,  Roy  de  France  &  de  Nauarre,  auec  vn  traitte  des  qualites 
&  conditions  requises  a  vn  bon  and  parfaict  Nauigateur,  pour  co- 
gnoistre  la  dinersite  des  EstimeB,  qui  se  font  en  la  nauigation ;  Les 
Marques  &  enaeignemens,  que  la  Prouidence  de  Dieu  a  miBes  dans  les 
Mere  pour  redresser  les  Mariniere  en  leur  routte,  sans  lesquelles  ils  tom- 
beroient  en  de  grand  dangers,  Et  la  maniere  de  bien  dresser  Cartea 
Marines,  auec  leurs  Ports,  Radee,  Isles,  Sondes,  &  autre  chose  ueces- 
saire  a  la  Nauigation.  Ensemble  vne  carte  generalle  de  la  description 
dudit  pays  faicte  en  son  Meridien,  selon  la  declinaison  de  la  guide  Ay- 
mant  &  vn  Catechisme  ou  Instruction  traduicte  du  Francois  au  langage 
des  Peuples  ^auuages  de  qutlque  contree,  auec  ce  qui  s'est  paset'e  en  la 
dite  Nouuelle  France,  en  I'anne  1631.  A  Monseignevr  le  Cardinal  Dvc 
de  Richelieu.  A  Paris :  cliez  Pierre  le-Mvr  dans  la  Grand'  Salle  du 
Palais.    M.DC.XXXIL    4". 


i   !,i; 


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|5   NEWTON,  5' 


76 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


ClIAU- 
FLAIN. 


Mr,  de  (Jliumplain  ia  pmpculy  tlio  founder  of  Now  Franco,  as 
ho  it  wuH  who  built  the  city  of  Quebec.  Ho  was  the  firHt 
governor  of  tliat  colony,  in  tlio  cstubliHiiment  of  which  ho 
bestowed  incalculable  exertioim.  He  was  an  able  navigator,  a 
man  of  talent  and  energy,  disinterested,  full  of  zeal  fur  religion 
and  his  country.  He  can  be  reproaciied  only  with  an  over 
credulity  in  tho  stories  told  him,  which  did  not,  however,  lead 
him  into  any  important  error.  Ilis  memoirs  are  excellent  in 
substance,  as  well  as  for  the  simple  and  natural  form  in  which 
they  are  written.  He  relat<js  scarcely  any  thing  that  ho  did  not 
see  himself,  or  receive  from  the  direct  accounts  of  trustworthy 
persons  ;  such  as  what  he  relates,  in  a  briefer  style  than  Lcs- 
carbot,  of  tl>e  expeditions  of  do  Ribaut,  do  Laudonniere,  and 
the  Chevalier  de  Gourgues  to  Froncii  Florida. 

He  published  his  first  voyage  in  1G13,  in  a  quarto  volume, 
divided  into  two  books,  and  printed  at  Paris  by  Jean  Berjon. 
In  1620  he  gave  a  continuation  in  a  small  octavo,  printed  at 
Paris  by  C.  Collet.  Finally,  in  the  edition  of  which  I  have  Just 
given  the  title,  he  resumes  the  whole  history  from  the  first  dis- 
covery by  Verazaui  to  1631.  He  adds  a  treatise  on  navigation, 
the  duty  of  a  good  mariner,  and  the  Jesuit  Father  Ledesma's 
Abridgment  of  the  Christian  Doctrine,  translated  into  Huron  by 
Father  John  de  Brcbeuf,  with  the  French  beside  it. 


f 


MlROURS 
FhaN(0I8. 

1826,  1628, 
1632,  1638. 


''\A 


In  the  Mercure  Franpois  for  the  year  1626  (vol.  xiii.,  p.  1),  is 
a  letter  of  Father  Charles  Lallemant,  written  from  Quebec 
August  1,  1626,  in  which  that  missionary  gives  a  brief  and 
very  exact  notice  of  that  country,  in  which  the  Jesuits  had  but 
just  begun  their  labors. 

In  that  of  1628,  the  erection  of  a  new  company  for  the 
Canada  trade,  and  the  revocation  of  the  articles  granted  to  the 
Sieur  de  Ca6n.  This  is  what  is  called  the  Company  of  the 
Hundred  Associates,  who  had  at  their  head  Cardinal  Richelieu. 

In  that  of  1632  there  is  Relation  dti  voyage  faU  en  Canada 
pour  la  prise  de  jMssession  du  Fort  de  Quebec.  The  English  had 
conquered  Quebec  and  all  Canada  in  1629.  They  restored  it  in 
1632,  and  the  French  were  put  in  possession  again  the  same 
year.     This  relation  contains  quite  interesting  details. 

In  that  of  1633  is  Relation  de  ce  qui  ^ed  passe  en  la  Nouwlle 


'U 


LIST  Oh-   AUTII0H8. 


77 


Fatiiir  LI 

JliUMI, 

1031). 


France,  ou  Canada;  uiid,  Autre  relation  du  myage  du  Sieur  de 
Champlain  a  la  nouuelte  France  ou  Canada  I'an  1633. 

BlUSTB  RELATION  DV  VOYAOB  DB  LA   NoTVBI.I.B  FltANCB,  FAIT  AU  UOII 

d'aurll  dernier,  |)ar  lu  P.  Pavl  le  levno,  de  la  Compof^niu  de  leaus.  A 
Paris,  chea  Sebaotlen  Craniulsjr,  Imprlmeur  de  Ho/.  10ij3.  A  tliia 
octavo. 

TliiH  is  the  first  of  tlio  relations  on  Now  France  which  the 
Jesuits  continued  to  publish  from  this  year  to  1672.  As  those 
fathers  were  scattered  among  all  the  nations  with  whom  the 
French  had  any  intercourse,  and  their  missions  obliged  them  to 
enter  into  all  the  affairs  of  the  colony,  we  may  say  that  their 
memoirs  contain  a  very  detailed  history.  There  is  indeed  no 
other  source  to  which  we  can  resort  to  learn  the  progress  of  re- 
ligion among  tlie  Indians,  and  to  know  those  nations,  all  whose  Jmoit  Rk- 
languages  they  spoke.  The  style  of  these  relations  is  extremely  iau™979 
simple,  but  this  very  simplicity  has  contributed  to  give  tiiem  a 
great  vogue,  not  less  than  the  curious  and  edifying  matter  with 
which  they  are  filled. 

News  OnSIB,   BKU    DESCBtPTIONIS    iNDIiB    OCCIDENTALIB,    LiBRI    XVIII. 

Authore  loanne  de  Laet  Antverpienal,  NotIb  Tabulia  Geographlcig,  ot 

varlia  Animantium,  ['lantarum,  Fructuumque  Iconibua  illustrati.   Lugd. 

Batav.  apud  EIzeTirius.     1633.    Folio. 

This  work,  which  was  ere  long  translated  into  French  and 
published  by  the  same  Elzevirs  in  1640,  is  full  of  excellent  re- 
search, as  well  in  regard  to  the  European  settlements  in  America 
as  in  regard  to  natural  history  and  the  character  and  manners 
of  the  Americans.  The  author  has  followed  the  best  sources. 
He  was  moreover  a  man  of  ability,  evincing  everywhere  great 
discernment  and  sound  criticism,  except  in  some  places,  where 
he  consulted  only  Protestant  authors,  and  yields  too  much  to 
religious  prejudice. 

He  treats  in  the  second  book  of  the  Island  of  Newfoundland, 
the  Grand  Bank,  Sable  Island,  Cape  Breton,  now  Isle  Royale, 
which  he  calls  Island  of  St.  Lawrence,  or  of  the  Bretons  ;  of 
the  other  islands  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  especially  of 
Anticosty,  of  the  port  of  Tadoussac,  and  the  Saguenay  River  ; 
of  the  great  river  of  Canada,  or  the  St.  Lawrence,  of  which  he 
gives  a  description  quite  exact  for  the  time ;  of  the  city  of 
Quebec,  of  the  Indians  then  best  known ;  of  Acadia,  of  all  the 


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HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


Da  La»t.   southern  coast  of  New  France,  and  of  all  that  occurred  in  that 
country  up  to  his  time  between  the  French  and  English. 

In  the  fourth  book  he  gives  quite  a  good  description  of 
Florida,  drawn  mainly  from  the  annals  of  Anthony  de  Herrera. 
He  recounts  all  the  attempts  of  the  Spaniards  to  settle  there 
under  John  Ponce  de  Leon,  the  licentiate  Vazquez  de  Ayllon, 
Pamphilo  de  Narvaez,  Hernando  de  Soto,  and  Louis  de  Moscoso  ; 
the  expeditions  of  the  French  to  that  part  of  Florida  now  occu- 
pied by  the  English  and  Spaniards  ;  the  settlement  of  St. 
Augustine  by  Peter  Menendez,  after  that  general  had  expelled 
the  French  from  Florida,  and  the  resistance  which  he  bad  to 
make  to  the  attack  of  the  English  under  Sir  Francis  Drake. 


Sasabd. 
1686. 


Groticb. 
1642-1643, 


HiBToiBB  Du  Canada,  &  Votaoeb,  qite  leb  Frebbb  Mn^Eims  Recollbcts 
f  out  faicts  pour  la  conuersion  des  Infidellee.  Divisez  en  qtuitre  liuree. 
Oh  est  amplement  traict^  des  choeee  prindpalee  arriuees  dans  le  pays  de- 
puis  I'an  1616  iusques  a  la  prise,  qui  en  a  estS  faicte  par  lee  Anglois.  Dee 
biena  &  commoditez  qu'on  en  peut  esperer.  Des  maeors,  ceremonies, 
creance,  loix  &  coustumes  memeilleuses  de  aes  habitans.  De  la  conuer- 
bion  h  baptesme  de  plusieun,  &  des  moyens  necessairea  po  or  les  i  <;ner 
a  la  cognoissance  de  Dien.  L'entretien  ordinaire  de  nos  Maiinierd,  & 
autree  particularitez,  qni  se  remarquent  en  la  suite  de  I'histoire.  Fait  & 
oompoe€  par  le  F.  Gabriel  Sagard  Theodat,  Mineor  Recollect  de  la 
Prouince  de  Paris.    A  Paris,  chez  Claude  Sonnius.    M.DC.XXXVI. 

The  author  of  this  work  spent  some  time  among  the  Hurons, 
and  relates  naively  all  that  he  saw  and  heard  on  the  spot,  but 
he  had  not  time  to  see  things  well  enough,  still  less  to  verify  all 
that  was  told  him.  The  Huron  vocabulary  which  he  has  left 
us,  proves  that  neither  he  nor  any  of  those  whom  he  consulted 
was  well  versed  in  that  language,  which  is  a  very  difiBcult  one  ; 
consequently  that  the  conversions  of  the  Indians  were  not  very 
numerous  in  his  time.  In  other  respects  he  seems  a  very  ju- 
dicious man,  zealous  not  only  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  but 
also  for  the  progress  of  a  colony  which  he  almost  saw  begin, 
and  saw  nearly  annihilated  in  its  origin  by  the  English  invasion. 
He  gives  us,  on  the  whole,  few  interesting  facts. 

HvGOKis  GBorn  Dibbertatio  De  Origine  Qejjtivm  Ahericanabyu 

1642.    4o. 

The  views  of  Grotius  were  not  approved,  and  the  next  year 
a  criticism  appeared  under  the  title — 


LIST  OP  AUTHOBa 


79 


JOANNia  DB  LAET  ANTVKRPIEITSIS  NoTiB  AD  DISBERTATIOKEH  HiTOONTS        LaiT. 

Qrotil  de  origine  Oentium  Americonarum,  &  observationea  aliqaot  ad  1'*8-1M*. 
meliorem  indaginem  difflcillimaB   htgus  qvueetionia.     Pariaiia,    apud 
Vidnam  Qulielmi  Pel6,  via  Jacobeu,  aub  aigno  Crucla  Aureee.    1643. 

John  de  Laet  does  not  confine  himself  to  censuring  Grotius, 
he  cites  the  opinions  of  the  Spanish  Jesuit  Father  Joseph  de 
Acosta,  of  Mark  Lescarbot,  and  of  Edward  Brerewood,  an 
Englishman,  on  the  same  subject,  and  refutes  them  all. 

Grotius  replied  with  hauteur,  and  the  same  year  published 
this  reply,  entitled : 

HcooNiB  Orotu  db  Orioine  Oentium  Ahericaitaruh  dissebtatio 
altera  adveraua  obtrectatorem.  Pariaiia  apnd  Sebaatianum  Cramoiay, 
Architypographnm  Regium,  via  Jacobaea,  aub  Ciconlia.    1643. 

Laet  replied  in  1644,  by  a  treatise  entitled : 
JoANHis  DE  Laet  Antwerfiani  bebfonsio  ad  dibbertationem  SEOtm- 
dam  Hygonia  Grotii  de  origine  Qentiam  Americanarum,  cam  indice 
ad  atromque  lil>ellum.     Amatelrodami,  apud  Ludovicum  Elzeviriom. 
CI0.1[0.CXLIV. 

The  same  year  there  appeared  at  Paris  a  little  work  with  this 
title : 

AmUADTBRSIO  JOANNIS  B.  POISBONIB,  ANDEOATI,  AD  EA,  qtliE  CELEBES-     FoiBBOH. 

rimi  viri  Hugo  Grotiua  &;  Joannia  Lahetiua  de  origine  gentium  Peru-       ^•**' 
viamtrom  &  Mexicanarum  acripaerunt ;  aive  Prodron)  js  Commentarii 
in  decimum.octavum  caput  Eaaiae.    Paria.    1644. 

But  this  publication  is  very  unimportant. 
Lbs  voyages  PAHEmc  du  Siedb  Vincent  le  Blanc,  Marseilloib  qd'il  L«  Biako. 

^ttAA 

a  &it  depuia  I'age  de  douze  ana  juaqu'  a  aoixante  aux  quatre  partiea  du 
monde;  S,  acavoir  aux  Indea  Orientalea  &  Occidentalea,  en  Ferae  & 
Pegu ;  aux  royaumea  de  Fez,  de  Maroc,  and  de  Guinee,  &  dana  toute 
I'Afrique  interieure,  depuia  le  Cap  de  Bonne-Eaperance  jusquea  en 
Alexandrie,  par  lea  terrea  de  Monomotapa,  da  PreteJan,  &  de 
I'Egypte ;  aux  lales  de  la  Mediterranee,  &  aux  principalea  Provincea  de 
I'Europe,  &c.,  rMlg^a  fid^lement  aur  aea  Memolrea  &  Regiatrea,  tirea  de 
la  Biblioth^que  de  M.  de  Peireac,  Conaeiller  au  Parlement  de  Provence, 
&  enricliia  de  trea-curieuaea  Olwervationa,  par  Pierre  Bergeron, 
Pariaien.  A  Paria  chez  Gervaia  Clouaier,  au  Palais,  aur  lea  d^grea  de 
la  Sainte  Cliapelle.    1G48.      4o. 

In  the  third  part  of  thia  work  he  speaks  of  almost  all  the 
countries  of  which  I  give  the  history,  but  in  very  few  words, 
and  in  a  confused,  inexact,  and  immethodical  manner. 


80 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


IIonNIDB. 

1668. 


GboroI  HornI  De  ORionnBVB  Ambricanis,  Libri  Quatttor,  Haoji 
Comitifl,  Bumptlbus  Adriani  Vlacq.    CIO.IO.CLII. 

This  author  refutes  quite  ably  the  opinion  of  those  who  had 
treated  this  subject  before  him,  but  to  establish  his  own  system 
he  runs  into  such  frivolous  and  improbable  conjectures  as  to 
cause  surprise  that  they  could  emanate  from  the  head  of  a  man 
who  shows  much  ability  in  his  work. 


Brbmani. 

1658. 


Bretb  Relations  d'alcvnb  Mibsioki  Db'  PP.  sella  Cohfaokia  di 
Gieeik  nella  Nnooa  Francia  del  P.  Franoesoo  Oioeeppe  Bresaani  della 
medeeima  Compagnia,  all'  EminentiBS.  ReverendisB.  Sig.  Card,  de  Lugo. 
In  Macerata,  Per  gUHeredid'AgoetinoGriBci.  1668.  4o. 

Fathei  Bressani,  a  Roman  by  birth,  was  one  of  the  most  illus- 
trious missionaries  of  Canada,  where  he  sufiFered  a  severe  cap- 
tivity and  unheard  of  torments.  He  speaks  little  of  himself  in 
his  History,  which  is  well  written  ;  but  is  confined  mainly  to 
the  Huron  mission,  in  which  he  labored  with  much  zeal  as  long 
as  it  subsisted.  After  the  almost  complete  extermination  of  that 
nation,  and  the  scattering  of  what  was  left,  he  returned  to  Italy, 
where  he  preached  till  his  death,  with  the  more  fruit,  inasmuch 
as  he  bore  on  his  mutilated  hands  glorious  marks  of  his  aposto- 
late  among  the  heathen. 


BODOBIT. 

1664. 


HlBTOmS  VERITABLE  ET  NATVRELLE  DEB  MCETRB  ET  PRODTJCTIONB   SU 

Pays  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  vulgairement  ditte  le  Canada.    A  Paris 
chez  Floientin  Lambert  rue  S.  Jacques  &  I'lmage  S.  Paul.    Small  12o. 

The  author  of  this  little  work  is  not  the  Jesuit  Father  Pierre 
Boucher,  as  the  Abbe  Lenglct  du  Fresnoy  supposed,  but  the 
Sieur  Pierre  Boucher,  Governor  of  Three  Rivers,  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  New  France,  where,  imitating  the  simplicity  and 
piety  of  the  patriarchs,  he  participated  in  the  blessings  which 
God  bestowed  upon  them,  having  seen  his  numerous  and  flour- 
ishing posterity  to  the  fiftii  generation.  He  died  nearly  a  cen- 
tenarian ;  and  his  widow,  who  survived  him  some  years,  saw 
her  grandchildren's  grandchildren.  He  was  deputed  to  the 
Court  to  represent  the  spiritual  and  temporal  wants  of  the 
colony  ;  and  during  this  voyage  to  Europe,  he  printed  the  little 
relation  in  question,  which  contains  only  a  quite  superficial  but 
very  faithful  account  of  Canada. 


LIST  OF  AUTHORS. 


81 


UiBTORiA  Cakasbitstb,  bkd  Noyji  Prasoia  Libri  Dbcem  ad  Amnju  Su  Cbmx. 

1  Afi4 

vfsque  M.DC.LVI.  Authore  P.  Francisco  Crevxio  h  Societate  leao. 
ParisiiB,  Apad  SebaBtiaoum  CramoiBy,  &  Sebast.  Mabre-CramoiBy,  Typo- 
graphoB  RegiB,  via  Jacobeea,  sub  Ciconijs.    M.DC.LXIV.    4o. 

This  extremely  diflfuse  work  was  composed  almost  exclusively 
from  the  Jesuit  Relations.  Father  Du  Greux  did  not  reflect  that 
details  read  with  pleasure  in  a  letter  become  insupportable  in 
a  continuous  history,  especially  when  they  have  lost  all  the 
charm  of  novelty. 


CiiAJios  Vabones  oe  la  CouPAmA  DE  Jebub  en  SArniDAO  Letbab  t 
Zelo  de  las  Almar,  por  el  Padre  Alonzo  de  Andrada,  de  la  Misma 
Compania.    Madrid.    1666.    Folio. 

In  the  two  volumes  of  this  work,  mention  is  made  of  almost 
all  the  Jesuits  who  sacrificed  their  lives  for  the  salvation  of  the 
nations  of  Canada,  but  very  briefly  and  without  detail.  This  is 
not  the  case  with  the  following  : 


Anobada. 
1666. 


MOBTEB  ILLUBTREB  £T  0E8TA  E0RT3H,  DE  SOCIETATE  JE8t7,  qVI  EK  ODIDlf    AuOAlOB 


i' 


Fidei  ab  Etlmicis,  HeereticiB,  vel  aliis  igne,  ferro,  ant  morte  ali&  necati, 
emmniBve  oonfecti  sunt ;  Autore  Philippo  Alegambe,  Broxellensi ;  ex 
eSdem  Societate.  Extremes  aliquot  annos,  mortesque  illustres,  usque 
annom  1664  adjecit  Joannes  Nadasi,  ejasdem  Societatis  Jesu.  Romae. 
1667.    Folio. 

All  these  lives  are  methodically  written  from  good  sources  ; 
several  are  even  quite  detailed.  They  comprise  sketches  of  al- 
most all  the  Jesuits  who  met  a  violent  death  in  the  exercise  of 
their  ministry  in  Canada. 

DeSCRIFTIOIT  GfioORAFHIQUB  &  HlSTORIQUE  DEB  COBTES  DE  L'Am£rI<}VB 

Septentrionale,  avec  I'HiBtoire  naturelle  du  PaVs.  Par  Monsieur  Denys, 
Oonvemeur,  Lieutenant  General  pour  le  Roy,  &  proprietadie  de  toutes 
les  Terree  &  Tjles,  qui  sent  depuis  le  Cap  de  Campseauz,  jusques  au 
Caps  des  Roiders.    A  Paris  cbez  Claude  Barbin.  1672.  2  volume.  12o. 

The  author  of  this  work  was  a  man  of  merit,  who  would  have 
founded  a  good  colony  in  New  France  had  he  not  been  traversed 
in  his  projects.  He  tells  nothing  but  what  he  saw  himself.  He 
gives  us  in  his  first  volume  a  very  exact  description  of  the  whole 
country  which  extends  from  the  river  Peutagoet  (Penobscot), 
following  the  coast  to  Cape  des  Rosieres,  which  is  the  southerly 
point  of  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River.  The  second 
Vol.  I.— 6 


Nadabi. 
1667. 


Dum. 
1672. 


i 


82 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


Dints. 


Hudson 
XC78 


Tannir. 

im. 


volume  comprises  the  natural  history  of  the  same  country,  and 
especially  all  that  regards  the  Cod-fishery.  The  historian  de- 
scribes briefly  the  Indians  of  these  parts,  the  nature  and  re- 
sources of  the  country,  the  animals,  rivers,  quality  of  the  woods. 
He  adds  some  historical  sketches  of  the  settlements  of  those 
who  shared  with  him  the  ownership  and  government  of  Acadia 
and  its  neighborhood. 

DEscnrrrio  et  dblineatio  oeoorafhica  detbctionib  Frbti  bite 
transitus  ad  occaaum  supra  terras  Americanas  in  Chlnam  inventi  ab 
Henrico  Hudson.    Amstelodami.    1673.    4o. 

The  author,  as  it  appears  by  the  title  of  this  work,  flattered 
himself  that  a  passage  to  China  had  been  found  through  Hud- 
son's Strait.    Time  showed  that  he  was  far  out  in  his  reckoning. 

SOCIETAS  jESn  USQUE  AD   BANOUINIS    PROFUBIONEU    HT  EUBOFB,   ASIA, 

Africa,  &  Americ£  militans,  sive  vita  et  mortes  eorom,  qui  in  causa 
fidei  interempti  sunt,  cum  iconibus  singulorum.  Autore  Mathia  Tan- 
nero  8.  J.    Pragse.    1673.    Folio. 

This  work  contains  a  more  abridged  biography,  or  rather 
eulogy,  of  nome  of  the  same  Canada  missionaries,  of  whom 
Fathers  Alcgambe  and  Nadasi  have  treated  more  fully  and 
historically. 


Soouti   db  Motifb  db  LA  SociETE  DB  MoNTBEAL.    A  Paris.    1674.    4°,  without 

Montreal.         „j„4.„_.„  «.„_ 
printer  8  name. 


1674. 


This  tract  sets  forth  the  motives  which  induced  several  per- 
sons of  piety  to  found  a  colony  at  Montreal,  having  for  its  main 
object  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  and  the  preservation  of 
those  already  Christians. 


DouClaude  La  Vie  db  la  V£n£rable  Mebe  Mabie  de  l'Incabnation,  PBEUTBita 
Ig??'"'         Superieure  des  Ursulines  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  tiree  de  ses  lettree  et 
de  ses  ecrits.    A  Paris  chez  Louys  Billaine.    1677.    4o. 

The  author  is  Dom  Claude  Martin,  son  of  Mother  Mary  of  the 
Incarnation.  His  work  has  no  fault,  but  its  containing  many 
things  foreign  to  the  subject.  This  led  me,  in  1124,  to  publish 
a  new  life  of  this  excellent  religious,  who  was  styled  tlio 
Saint  Teresa  of  France,  and  of  whom  we  have  several  works 
This  now  life  was  printed  at  Paris,  by  Briasson,  in  octavo.     In 


LIST  OP  AUTHORS. 


83 


both  works,  it  is  almost  alwaj's  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation,       Don 
who  relates  all  that  passed  in  hor  communion  with  God,  and    MARrur. 
who  narrates  the  events  of  her  life  somewhat  in  the  style  of  St. 
Teresa. 


Lbttbes  db  la  Mere  Mabib  db  t'lNCABMATioir,  fremierb  atiFfiRiBinue  Marik    di 

l'Inoabna- 

TIOK. 


des  Umnlines  de  la  Nouvelle  France. 
16S1.    4o. 


A  Paris,  chez  Lonyg  Billalne. 


1681. 


These  letters,  which  are  well  written  and  worthy  of  the  great 
reputation  of  this  admirable  woman  for  holiness,  talent,  and 
ability  in  all  kinds  of  affairs,  and  especially  in  spiritual  life, 
contain  many  historical  'acts  which  happened  during  the  thirty- 
two  years  which  she  lived  in  Canada,  where  she  landed  in  1640, 

HiSTOtRE  DB  LA  CIONQDETE  DB  LA  FlORIDB  PAR  W  QBNTniHOMUB  DB  CiTRT  DB  Uk 

la  Ville  d'Elvas,  traduite  en  FronijoiB  par  M.  Citry  de  la  Quette.     ^jj|""- 
Paris.  1686. 

This  work  contains  about  the  same  as  that  of  Garcilasso  de 
la  Vega,  mentioned  auove,  and  is  not  less  esteemed.  The 
translation  is  much  esteemed. 


VOYASB  ET  DicOUVBRTE  DE  QUBLqiTB  PATS  BT  NATIONS  DB  L'Ah£bIQUB  MarQUIITK. 

Septentrionalc.  ^**^- 

This  is  the  Jesuit  Father  Marquette's  journal  of  his  voyage 
down  the  Mississippi,  when  he  discovered  that  great  river  with 
the  Sieur  Joliet,  in  1673.  It  is  to  be  found  in  a  Becueil  des 
Voyages  de  M.  Thevenot  dedU  au  Roy,  &  imprime  d  Paris  chez 
Thomas  Moette,  rue  de  la  viei'k  Bouclerie  d  S.  Michel.  1681.  4o. 


n 


I 


■^  <  L 


Descbiftion  de  la  Louisiane  NOUVELLEMENT  DBCOUVERTE 

oUest  de  la  N.  France,  par  ordre  du  Roy,  avec  la  Carte  du  Pays  :  Les 
Mceors  &  la  Maniere  de  vivre  des  Sauvages.  D^diee  a  sa  majesty  par  le 
R.  P.  Louis  Hennepin,  Missionaire  Recollet  &  Notaire  Apostoliqne.  A 
Paris  chez  Amable  Auroy,  rue  S.  Jacques  a  I'lmage  S.  Jerdme.  1G83.  12o. 

Father  Hennepin  had  been  greatly  attached  to  M.  de  la  Sale, 
and  followed  him  to  the  Illinois,  whence  that  voyager  sent  him 
with  the  Sieur  Dacan  to  ascend  the  Mississippi.  This  voyage 
he  here  describes.  The  title  of  the  work  is  not  just ;  for  the 
country  discovered,  by  the  Recollect  and  the  Sieur  Dacan 
ascending  the  river  from  the  Illinois  to  Sault  St.  Anthony,  is 


AU  SUD-  Hennepin. 

1688,  1687, 


1698. 


it  ri 


m 


84 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


I 
I 

i 


If; 


Hamrapw.  not  LouiBiana,  but  New  France.  The  title  of  a  second  work  of 
Father  Hennepin,  which  is  in  the  BectteU  dea  Voyages  au  Nord, 
Vol.  v.,  is  not  more  bo.     It  reads  : 

VoTAUB  an  tm  Pats  pldb  oiuin>  qux  l'Eubope  entrb  la  Meb  glacials 
et  le  Nonveku  Mexlque. 

For,  far  as  they  may  have  ascended  the  Mississippi,  they 
were  still  far  distant  from  the  Arctic  Sea.  When  the  author 
published  this  second  relation  he  had  broken  with  de  la  Sale. 
It  seems  even  that  he  was  forbidden  to  return  to  America,  and 
his  displeasure  at  this  induced  him  to  go  to  Holland,  where  he 
printed  a  third  work,  entitled 

NOUTXLLE  DEBCBIPTIOM  D'CK  TBE8  OBAKD  PaTB  ^TtVt  DAKS  L'AMfiRIQCa 

entre  le  Nonveau  Mexique  &  la  Mer  gladale,  depoia  I'an  1670  JuBqa'en 
1682,  avec  des  ReflexionB  sur  leB  entreprisee  de  M.  Cavalier  de  la  Sale, 
&  antree  choseB  concemant  la  degcription  k  I'HlBtoire  de  TAmfriqae 
Septentrionale.    Utrecht.    1697.    12o. 

It  was  reprinted  the  next  year,  at  the  same  place,  in  two 
volumes,  with  the  title 

yOTAGE,  or  D^.COTITERTE  D'UN  TR^B  ORAKD  PaTB,  &«. 

Both  are  merely  enlarged  editions  of  the  author's  second 
work.  He  vents  his  chagrin  not  only  on  the  Sieur  de  la  Sale, 
but  on  France  also,  by  which  he  deemed  himself  ill  used,  and 
he  tries  to  save  his  credit  by  declaring  himself  a  born  subject 
of  the  Catholic  king.  But  he  should  have  remembered  that  it 
was  at  the  expense  of  France  that  he  travelled  in  America,  and 
that  it  was  in  the  name  of  the  most  Christian  king  that  he  and 
the  Sieur  Dacan  took  possession  of  the  countries  which  they 
had  discovered.  He  does  not  even  hesitate  to  aver  that  it  was 
with  the  consent  of  the  Catholic  king,  his  first  sovereign,  that 
he  dedicated  his  book  to  William  III.,  King  of  England, 
and  that  he  solicited  that  monarch  to  effect  the  conquest  of 
those  vast  tracts,  send  colonies  there,  and  have  the  gospel 
preached  to  the  heathen.  This  step,  which  scandalized  the 
Catholics,  and  made  even  Protestants  laugh,  surprised  to  see 
a  religious,  calling  himself  Missionary  and  Apostolic  Prothon- 
otary,  exhort  a  Protestant  prince  to  found  a  church  in  the  New 
World.     All  these  works  are  written  in  a  declamatory  style. 


LIST  OF  AUTHORS. 


86 


offensiTO  by  its  inflation,  and  revolting  by  the  liberties  which  iIinxxpim 
the  author  takes,  and  by  bis  indecent  invectives.  As  to  sub- 
stance,  Father  Hennepin  believed  himself  entitled  to  take  a 
traveller's  license  ;  he  is  accordingly  much  decried  in  Canada, 
his  fellow-travellers  often  protecting  that  he  was  any  thing  but 
truthful  in  his  accounts. 


M.  DC  8. 
Valibb. 

1668. 


EbTAT  FRBBBNT  DB  L'EQUBK  &  DB  LA  COLOIOE  FRANfOIBB  DASB  LA  NOU- 

▼dle  France,  par  M.  I'Eveqne  de  Quebec.    A  Paris,  chez  Robert  Pepie, 
ru«  St.  Jacques  a  S.  Bafdle.    M.D.C.LXXXVIII.    8o. 

Mr.  de  St.  Valier,  having  been  appointed  to  the  See  of  Quebec, 
vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Mgr.  de  Laval,  wished,  before  his 
consecration,  to  know  his  diocese,  and  embarked  for  Canada  in 
1685.  He  returned  to  France  the  next  year,  and  drew  up  an 
account  of  his  voyage  in  letter  form,  in  which  he  represented 
the  actual  state  of  New  France.  This  work  is  well  written, 
and  worthy  of  its  author,  who  governed  this  church  for  more 
than  forty  years,  and  left  there  illustrious  marks  of  his  charity, 
piety,  disinterestedness  and  zeal. 


PBBHIBR  ETABLI88EIIENT  DE  LA  FOT  DAUB  LA  NOUVKLLE  FRANCE,  CON-    Ll  CUROQ. 

tenant  la  publication  de  I'Evangile,  THistoire  des  Colonies  Frani;oiBee, 
&  les  fameuses  decouvertes  depuisle  Fleuvede  Saint  Laurent,  la  LoiUsi- 
ane,  &  le  Fleuve  Colbert,  jnsqu'au  Golphe  Mexique,  achev^es  sous  la 
conduite  de  feu  Monsieur  de  la  Salle,  Par  ordre  du  R07.  Avec  les  vio- 
toires  remport^es  en  Canada  par  les  armes  de  sa  Majesty  sur  les  Anglois 
&  les  Iroquois  en  1600.  Dedie  a  Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Frontenac, 
Gouvemeur  &  Lieutenant  General  de  la  Nouvelle  France ;  par  le  P^re 
Chrestien  le  Clercq,  Missionnaire  Recollet  de  la  Province  de  Saint  An- 
toine  de  Pade  en  Artois,  Gardien  des  Reoollets  de  Lens.  A  Puis, 
chez  Amable  Auroy,  ru(i  Saint  Jacques,  attenant  la  Fontaine  S.  Severin 
a  rimage  Saint  Jerume.    M.DC.XCI.   2  vols.    12o. 

This  work,  in  which  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Count 
de  Frontenac  had  a  hand,  is  generally  pretty  well  written,  al- 
though there  is  a  prevalent  strain  of  declamation,  which  does 
not  prepossess  you  in  the  author's  favor.  Father  le  Clercq 
touches  on  religions  affairs,  almost  only  in  so  far  as  the  reli- 
gious of  his  order  are  concerned  ;  on  the  history  of  the  colony, 
only  where  it  relates  to  Count  de  Frontenac  ;  and  on  only  those 
discoveries  where  his  fellow-religious  accompanied  the  Sieur  de 
la  Sale. 


't' 


M 


I 


f  > 


88  BISTORT  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 

La  Cuiaoq.  NouvRLLi  RKtATtoN  db  la  Oaipuib,  qni  contirnt  i.bb  miudrb  k  la 
Religion  de«  8«uvagM  Qaai)Mluns  Pnrte-Croli,  a<loratuur8  du  Solnll, 
k  d'autrea  Penplea  de  1' Auerlque  Beptentrionkle,  dite  le  ( )anada.  DMlf-e 
i  Madame  la  Princewe  d'Eplnojr,  par  lu  Pdre  Chreatlun  le  Clercq,  MIm- 
■lonnaire  Reoollet  de  la  Province  de  Saint  Antolne  de  Pade  en  ArtoU, 
&  Qardlen  du  Couvent  de  Lens.  A  Paris,  cliez  Amable  Auroy,  ruJi  S. 
Jacques  i  I'lmage  S.  Jerome  attenant  la  Pontaino  S.  Severin.  1001.  12o, 

A  desert  coast,  some  small  isiundH  and  HHhiiig  liiirborH — In- 
diana who  come  and  go  from  Acadia  and  its  environs — snch  iH 
Oaspesia  and  the  Qaspcsians,  whom  our  author  styles  Porte  Croix, 
on  a  false  tradition  ;  and  it  is  not  wherewith  to  fill  up  a  volume 
of  six  hundred  pages  with  very  interesting  matter. 


La  Hontan. 
1705. 


NOUVEAUX  VOTAOEa  DB  MR.  LE  BaRON  DE  LA  HoNTAN  DANS  L'AMBRIQnS 

Beptentrionale,  qui  contlunnent  une  Relation  den  dlfferenii  Peuples,  qui 
y  habitent;  la  nature  de  leur  Qouvemement.  leur  Commerce,  leur 
'  Coutumea,  leur  Religion,  &  leur  manlere  de  faire  la  Quere.  L'lnterr-t 
dee  Pran<;ois  Si  des  Anglois  dana  le  Commerce,  qu'ila  font  avet  )8  Na- 
tions ;  I'avantage,  que  I'Angleterre  peut  retirer  dans  ce  PaVa,  6tant  en 
guerre  avec  la  Prance.  Le  tout  enrich!  de  Cartes  &  de  flgurea.  A  la 
Haye,  chez  les  Frferea  I'Honor^,  Marchands  Libralre.    M.DCCIII.    12o. 

MeUOIRBS  db  L'AUKRIQCE  SeFTENTRIGNALB,  OU  la  SniTB  OE8  VoTAGBa 

de  Mr.  le  Baron  de  la  Hontan :  Qui  coniiennent  la  Description  d'une 
grande  StendUe  de  PaYa  de  ce  Continent,  I'int^ret  des  Prancola  &  dcs 
Anglois,  leur  Commerces,  leur  Navigations,  lea  Mceura  &  lea  Coutumea 
dea  Sauvagee,  &c.  Avec  un  petit  Ulctlonnaire  de  la  Langue  du  Pais. 
Seoonde  edition,  augmentee  des  conversations  de  I'auteur  avec  un 
Sauvage  distingue.  A  Amsterdam,  chez  Francois  I'Honor^.  MDCCV 
1vol.    120. 

The  author,  although  a  man  of  family,  was  at  first  a  soldier 
in  Canada.  He  was  then  made  an  officer  ;  and,  haviiif?  been 
sent  to  Newfoundland  as  Lieutenant  de  Roy  of  Placontia,  he 
quarrelled  with  the  governor,  was  broken,  and  retired  first  to 
Portugal,  then  to  Denmark.  The  great  liberty  which  he  gives 
his  pen  has  contributed  greatly  to  make  his  book  read  and 
sought  with  avidity  wherever  people  were  not  sufficiently  versed 
to  know  that  the  truth  is  there  so  confounded  with  the  false, 
that  it  is  necessary  to  be  well  versed  in  Canadian  history  to 
disentangle  it,  and  that  it  consequently  teaches  the  well- 
informed  nothing,  and  can  only  throw  others  into  error.  In 
fact,  almost  all  the  proper  names  are  distorted,  most  of  the 


LIST  OP  AUTHORS. 

factB  disfigured,  and  entire  opiHo<lcH  are  pure  fiction  ;  auch  an, 
for  inHtanco,  t)io  voyage  iip  Lon^  Kivor,  which  ia  aa  fabuloiia 
aa  the  ialand  of  Barataria,  of  which  Sancho  Panza  was  gov- 
ernor. NevcrtheleHS,  in  France  and  elae where,  moat  people 
have  regarded  these  me moira  as  the  fruit  of  the  travels  of  a 
gentleman  who  wrote  badly,  although  quite  lightly,  and  who 
had  no  religion,  but  who  deacribed  pretty  aincerely  what  he  had 
seen.  The  consequence  is,  that  the  compilers  of  historical  and 
geographical  dictionaries  have  almost  always  followed  and 
cited  them  in  preference  to  more  faithful  memoirs,  which  they 
did  not  take  pains  to  consult.  The  work  was  treated  with  more 
justice  in  Canada,  where  the  author  passes  generally  aa  a 
romancer. 

In  this  edition  is  omitted  the  voyage  to  Portugal  and  Den- 
mark, in  which  the  Baron  de  la  Hontan  showa  himself  aa  bad  a 
Frenchman  aa  he  is  a  Christian.  His  embarrassed  and  often 
barbarous  style  has  also  been  retouched.  Yet  it  is  still  far 
from  being  a  well-written  work.  It  is  perhaps  the  conformity 
of  style  noted  between  this  and  G.  dreville's  Atlas,  which  has 
led  to  the  belief  that  it  passed  through  the  hands  of  this  rene- 
gade monk.  The  dictionary  of  the  language  of  the  country, 
announced  in  the  title,  as  though  there  were  only  one  language 
in  Canada,  is  only  a  very  poor  vocabulary  of  the  Algonquin 
language  ;  and  the  conversations  with  the  Indian  Adario  are 
only  an  artifice  of  the  author,  who  wished  to  give  us  his  views 
on  religion. 


87 


La  Iloai- 

TAK. 


HiBTORLB  SOCIETATIB  JESTJ   PARB  QtONTA,  ToMTB  POSTERIOR  AB   AimO  JoDTINOT. 

Christl  1501,  ad  annum  1616.     Auctore  Joeepho  Juvendo,  Societatia 
ejuBdem  Sacerdote.    Romee.    1710.    Folio. 

In  this  work  there  is  nothing  bearing  on  my  history,  except 
the  expedition  of  the  Jesuits  to  Acadia  and  Pentagoet,  in  1611. 
It  is  in  book  XV.,  at  the  end  of  which  the  author  gives  a  brief 
notice  of  Canada  and  the  Indians,  drawn  from  the  Jesuit 
Relations. 


u 


JoimNAL  HIBTORIQCE  OD  DERNIER  VOTAOB,  QUE   FEU  M.  DE  LA  SAI4E  FIT      JoOTEL. 

1713 
dans  le  Golfe  do  Mexique,  pour  trouver  Tembouchure  &  le  coutb  de  la 

Riviere  de  Missicipi,  nomm^  a  preaent  !a  Riviere  de  Saint  LooI'b,  qui 

traverse  la  Louisiane.    Od  I'on  volt  I'HistoIre  tragiqae  de  sa  mort,  & 


trMLMM    !U,llJMH>iiW.il.|.. 


88 


BIBTORY  OF  NEW  FItANCB. 


JOUTBL. 


LamiM 

EooiANTU. 


pliuleura  cboMi  curletUM  <lu  douvhuu  iiioDiio,  |)*r  MimNleur  Jouti<l, 
Tun  Aim  ('ompagDon*  da  oa  voyago,  rtxllgH  k  mil  en  ordre,  p«r  Mud- 
d«ar  de  Miohel.  A  Pari*,  chei  EMtlnnnn  Roblnot,  Llbralnt,  Quay  &  aU 
tenant  la  Porte  di«  Orand*  AuKtiKtlna,  il  I'Angif  Qardlitn.     MDC'('XIII. 

lao. 

I  aaw  Mr,  Joiitel  at  Ruuuii  in  1723.  Ho  wuh  u  vory  upright 
roan,  and  the  only  one  of  La  Sale's  party  on  whom  that  explorer 
could  rely.  Joutel  accordingly  rendered  him  important  sorvicoH. 
IIo  complained  that  in  retouching  his  work  they  had  somewhat 
altered  it ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  they  made  any  essential 
changes. 

LKTTHBI  EDIFIAIfTCH  KT  CnRIBnBBI  fioRITTRH  DRsMlMIONR  ETRASOBRBH 

par  quelqnna  MlMlonnalrea  de  la  Compagulu  dii  Jt«u8.    voU.     13o. 

In  the  tenth  volume  (Paris,  Joan  Burbou,  rufl  St.  Jucqiion 
aux  Cigognes,  1712),  is  a  letter  of  Father  Oubriol  Marfit,  where- 
in he  describes  his  voyage  to  Hudson's  Bay,  in  1694,  with  Mr. 
d'Iberville,  and  this  letter  contains  several  particulars  as  to 
those  northern  parts. 

In  the  eleventh  (Paris,  Nicolas  lo  Clerc,  rud  St.  Jacques, 
1715),  is  a  letter  of  the  same  missionary,  dated  November  9, 
1712,  from  the  Illinois  country.  It  contains  several  details  as 
to  the  settlement  of  the  French,  and  the  progress  of  Ohristianity 
among  the  Indians,  a  part  of  whom  were  then  on  the  Missis- 
sippi. 

In  the  twelfth  (same,  1717),  is  a  letter  of  Father  le  Cholenec, 
missionary  among  the  Iroquois,  on  the  life  and  sanctity  of 
Catharine  Tegahkouita,  an  Iroquois  Virgin,  surnamed  la  Bonne 
Catherine,  whose  tomb  became  renowned  for  a  great  number  of 
miracles. 

In  the  thirteenth  (same,  1720),  is  another  letter  of  Father  le 
Cholenec,  where  this  missionary  relates  the  precious  death  of 
some  Iroquois  neophytes  of  both  sexes,  who  endured  the  most 
frightful  torments  and  shed  their  blood  for  Christ. 

In  the  seventeenth  (same,  and  le  Mercier,  fils,  1736),  is  a 
letter  of  Father  Sebastian  Rasle,  written  from  the  mission  of 
Narantsoaak,  where  there  is  a  curious  detailed  account  of  what 
passed  between  the  English  and  the  Abenaki  Indians  in  regard 
to  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  down  to  the  death  of  that  missionary, 


LIST  OF  AUTHORS. 


B<J 


who  had  u  -oady  buon  killed  by  tho  GiigliHli  wliou  tho  lottor 
reachod  France.  Another  lottor  of  Futlior  do  lu  Ohaggo,  Su- 
porior-Oenoral  of  tho  MJHHioua  of  tho  Society  of  Joaua  iu  Now 
Franco,  dated  Quebec,  October  89,  1724,  and  inncrtcd  in  tho 
Banio  volume,  giveti  the  circumHtancofi  of  tluH  death. 

Tho  twentieth  volume,  iHsuod  by  tho  Hamo  publiHherH  in  1731, 
informs  uh,  in  the  dedicatory  epiatio  of  Father  du  Hnlde,  and  in 
a  letter  of  Father  le  Petit,  Superior  of  tho  Jeauita  in  Louiaiana, 
of  the  death  of  two  Jeauit  miaaionariea,  maaaacrcd  by  the 
Yazooa  and  Natchez,  with  a  great  number  of  tho  French. 
Father  le  Petit  alao  gives  quito  a  detailed  account  of  the 
Natchez  tribe. 

In  thd  twenty-third  (0.  le  Mercier,  rufl  St.  Jacquea  au  Livre 
d'or,  1788),  ia  a  letter  of  Father  Raale,  written  aomo  time  before 
hia  death,  where  ho  relates  aeveral  mannera  and  cuatoma  of 
various  Indian  nationa  among  whom  he  had  lived. 


Lnraia 
Eoiri- 
Airrti, 


ROCnBIL    DB   VOTAOBB  AO    NORD,  CONTBNANT   DIYBRfl    MftuoniBS  TR^  VoTikOM  AO 

Utiles  au  Commerce  &  k  U  Navigation.    A  Amsterdam,  chea  Jean   i<[^??24 
Frederic  Bernard.    1715.    8  vola.    12o.    Reprinted  hj  the  aame,  with 
an  addition  of  five  other  volumes. 

With  regard  to  tho  subjects  treated  by  me,  we  find  in  the 
third  volume : 

1.  RBLATION  DB  TEBRB  NETTVB  TRABmTB  DB  L'ANOLOIB  DB  WHTTB,  BN- 

richie  d'une  trt^s  lielle  carte  de  Qolllaame  do  I'lsle  do  tout  I'liemi- 
sphere  septentrlonale. 

This  relation  is  very  instructive  on  the  cod-fisheries,  which 
constitute  the  sole  wealth  of  Newfoundland.  The  writer  then 
treats  of  Isle  Royalc,  now  called  Cape  Breton  laland,  but  be 
doea  not  aeem  well  informed. 

3.  MBMOIBE  TOnCEAKT    TBRRB   NbUVB   &  LB  QOLFB   DB  S.    LaURBMT, 

extrait  des  meillenn  Joumaax  de  Mer,  par  I'Autear  de  la  Relation 
pr^c^dente. 

This  memoir  is  also  accompanied  by  a  map,  and  is  really  only 
a  routier,  where  the  lay  of  the  land  seems  exactly  marked  out. 


The  entire  fifth  volume  bears  on  my  history,  but  I  have  not 
derived  much  assistance  from  it.     It  comprises  : 


90 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


VoYAoia 

AU  NOBO. 


La 

Pom  ERIE. 

1728. 


1.  Relation  DB  LA  LouiBiANE,  ou  MiciBBiFi. 

Addressed  to  a  lady  by  a  naval  oflScer,  a  very  honest  man, 
who  says  little  but  what  he  saw  or  learned  on  the  spot ;  but  he 
had  not  time  to  inform  himself  thoroughly  on  the  nature  of  the 
countrj',  still  less  on  the  history  of  the  colony. 

2.  Relation  de  la  Loutsiane,  oc  du  Micissipi,  fab  lb  Ohbvalibr  de 

Tonti,  Qouverneur  du  Fort  de  S.  Lonys  &ux  lUinois. 

This  author  was  most  capable  of  giving  us  authentic  memoirs 
on  this  colony,  in  founding  which  he  labored  beyond  all  others  ; 
l)ut  he  disavowed  this  relation,  which  would,  in  no  sense,  reflect 
credit  upon  him. 

8.  VoTAGE  en  vm  Pats  plus  grand  qcs  l'Europe,  &c. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  this  work  of  Father  Hennepin. 

4.  Relation  des  yotaobs  de  Gohnold,  Fringe  et  Gilbert  A  la  Vib- 
glnie  en  1603  &  1603. 

This  is  only  a  naval  journal,  which  may  be  of  some  use  to 
navigators. 

6.  Relation  ou  Detroit  &  de  la  Bate  d'Hudson,  A  MoNSiscrB   *    * 
par  MonsieoT  JMtaie. 

I  knew  the  author,  a  very  honest  man  and  skilful  voyageur. 
It  was  he  who,  after  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  delivered  up  to  the 
English  Fort  Bourbon,  or  Port  Nelson,  in  Hudson's  Bay,  which 
he  had  commanded  for  six  years.  His  Relation  is  very  instruc- 
tive, and  judiciously  written. 

6.  Lbb  troib  Navigations  dti  >nnEVALiER  Martin  Frobibher. 

This  navigator  was  sent  by  Queen  Elizabeth  of  England  to 
discover  a  northern  passage  to  Japan  and  China.  To  accom- 
plish it,  he  made,  at  great  expense,  three  attempts,  all  without 
result  beyond  the  discovery  of  some  countries  north  of  Hudson's 
Bay. 

HiBTOmE    DE    L'AMERIQIJE     SErTENTRlONALE.       DlVlStE    EN    QITATREB 

tomes.  .  .  .  par  Mr.  de  Bocqueville  de  la  Potherie,  n€  a  li  Ouadalonpe 
dans  I'Ameriqae  Meridionale,  Aide  Major  de  la  dite  Isle.  A  Paris,  chez 
Jean  Luc  Nion,  an  premier  Pavilion  dee  quatre  Nations,  a  Ste  Monique 
et  Fran(;oiB  Didot,  a  I'entree  du  Quai  dee  AngiutinB  a  la  Bible  d'or 
M.IX'C.XXn.    4  vols.    12o.    Plates. 


.1 


-'•jj^gggjjg. 


LIST  OF  AUTHORS. 


91 


I  I 


!■ 


1':^  -■• 


This  work,  written  in  the  form  of  letters,  except  the  second, 
which  is  divided  into  chapters,  contains  quite  undigested  and 
ill-written  material  on  a  good  portion  of  Canadian  history. 
What  the  author  relates  as  an  eye-witness  may  be  relied  upon  ; 
he  seems  sincere  and  unimpassioned,  but  as  to  other  matters  he 
has  not  been  always  well  informed. 

MCEXms  DEB  SaDVAOBS  AMfOUqUAniS  OOHPARfiSB   AUX  JKEUBS  DE8  FRB- 

miera  tempe.  Par  le  P.  Lafitan  de  la  Compagnie  de  JesuB.  Ouvrage 
enrichi  de  figiiKB  en  taille^doace.  A  PaiiB,  chez  SaTigrain  I'ainS  & 
Charles  Eetienne  Hochereau.    MDCCXXIV.    2  vols.    4o. 

The  next  year  the  same  work  was  very  poorly  reprinted  in 
four  volumes,  12o,  at  Rouen,  by  the  same  publishers.  It  con- 
tains many  details  on  the  manners,  customs,  and  religion  of 
the  American  Indians,  especially  those  of  Canada,  whom  the 
author  knew  more  intimately,  having  been  a  missionary  among 
the  Iroquois.  We  have  nothing  more  exact  on  this  subject. 
The  parallel  between  ancient  nations  and  the  Americans  is  very 
ingenious,  and  shows  a  great  familiarity  with  antiquity. 

Ensayo  Cronolooico  para  la  Hibtoria  oenerajl  de  la  Florida.  Coit- 
tiene  loB  DeBcnbriinientoB,  y  principales  buccbob,  acaecidoe  en  eBte  (iran 
Reino,  a  Iob  EBpaSolee,  FranceBCB,  SuecoB,  DinamarqueBes,  Ingleses,  j 
otraB  Naciones,  entre  b),  y  con  Iob  IndioB ;  caias  CostnmbreB,  Qenios, 
Idolatria,  Qovierno,  Batallas,  y  AMaciaB,  Be  refieren :  y  Iob  Viages  de 
algonoB  Capitanes,  y  Pilotos,  por  el  Mar  de  el  Norte,  £  buBcar  PaBo  a 
Oriente,  a  vnion  de  aqneUa  Tierra,  con  Asia.  Desde  el  aSo  1S12  que 
deBcubrio  la  Florida,  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  hasta  el  de  1722.  EBcrito 
por  Dc-;  Gabriel  de  Cardenas  Z  Cano.  Dedicado  al  Principe,  nuestro 
SeSor.  Con  PrivUegio:  En  Madrid  en  la  Oficina  Real  y  S,  coBta  de 
Nicolas  Rodriguez  Franco,  ImprcBor  de  Libros.  ASo  CIO.IO.CCXXIIJ. 
Folio. 

The  author's  name  on  the  title-page  is  fictitious.  The  work 
is  by  D.  Andre  Gonzales  de  Barcia,  of  the  Spanish  Academy, 
Auditor  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  War,  and  President  of  the 
Chamber,  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  Spain.  As  he  cor>- 
prises  under  the  name  of  Florida  all  the  mainland  and  adjacent 
islands  of  North  America,  from  the  river  Panuco,  which  bounds 
Mexico  on  the  East,  he  relates  year  by  year  all  that  happened 
in  those  vast  countries  from  1512  to  1712,  and  consequently 
speaks  of  all  the  provinces  of  which  I  give  the  liistory. 


La 
FoTiiiBia 


Lafttad. 
1728. 


Baroia. 

1728. 


m 


,>.*;J 


92 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


5! 


BalAZAB.     CHSTSIS  DBL  EMSATO  CRONOLOOICO  PABA  la  HI8T0RIA  aSKBRAL  DB  LA 

^  Florida,  por  un  Forastero.    En  Alcala  de  Henares.    1735.    4o. 

This  is  an  unmeasured  criticism  on  the  preceding  work.  The 
author  sometimes  censures  justly,  but  he  seems  piqued,  and 
does  not  spare  terms.  This  author,  disguised  under  the  name 
of  "  a  Foreigner,"  is  Don  Joseph  de  Salazar,  Knight  of  Santiago, 
of  the  Council  of  the  King's  Orders,  Historiographer  of  Spain 
and  the  Indies. 


Oaboia. 

Baroia. 

1789. 


Obioen  de  Loa  Indiob  de  el  Xcevo  Mcimo,  s  Iia>iAS  Occidentales, 
averiguado  con  diacurso  de  opinionee,  por  el  Padre  presentado  Fr.  Qre- 
gorio  Oarcia,  de  la  Orden  de  Predicadores.  Tratanse  en  este  Libro 
varias  cosas  y  puatoa  coriosoe,  tocantes  a  di versas  Cienciaa  y  Pacultades, 
con  que  se  hace  varia  liistoria  de  mucho  gusto  para  el  ingealo  j  entendi- 
miento  de  Hombres  agudos,  y  curiosos.  Segunda  impresion.  Ekunendada 
7  anadida  de  alg^nas  opinionea,  f>  coaas  notablea,  en  maior  prueba  de  lo 
que  contiene,  con  Trea  Tablas  mui  puntualea  de  los  Capituloa,  de  las 
Materias,  y  Autores,  que  las  tratan,  Dirigido  al  Angelico  Doct.  Sto. 
Thomas  de  Aquino.  Con  Privilegio  real.  En  Madrid,  en  la  imprenta 
de  Franciaoo  Martinez  Abad.    ABo  de  1729.    Folio. 

The  work  of  Father  Garcia,  printed  at  Valencia,  in  Spain,  in 
1607,  in  1  vol.,  4to,  becomes,  with  the  additions  of  the  editor, 
who  is  the  author  of  the  Enaayo  Gronologico  para  la  Historia 
general  de  la  Florida,  a  double  column  folio.  All  that  has  ever 
been  imagined  as  to  the  origin  of  the  Americans,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  this  New  World  was  peopled,  is  gathered  here, 
and  set  forth  with  endless,  but  not  always  necessary,  erudition. 


Lbnolkt  DD  METHODE  POnB  ItUUIEU  L'HiBTORIE,  AVEC  un  CATALOO0B  des  frinci- 

BKSNOT.         paux  Histarlciis  &  des  remarquea  sur  la  bontS  de  leura  Ouvragea,  &  aor 

i  le  choix  dea  meilleuia  ^ditiona,  par  M.  I'Abbe  Lenglet  du  Freanoy. 

Nouvelle  edition,  augmentee  et  om€e  de  Cartes  geographiques.    A 

Paris,  chez  Herre  Qandouin,  Quay  des  Augostins,  a  la  Belle  Image 

4  vols.    4o. 

All  that  can  be  said  of  this  work  in  regard  to  my  subject  is, 
that  the  author  is  any  thing  but  familiar  with  the  history  of  the 
New  World,  and  those  who  have  hitherto  written  of  it. 


Catmbt. 
1731. 


The  Natural  History,  &c.  Histoike  Naturelle  de  la  Caroline,  de 
la  Floride  &  des  Tales  Bahamas,  contenant  les  Dcsseina  dea  Oiseaux, 
Animoux,  Poiasona,  Serpena,  Inaectea,  &  Plantes:  &  en  particulier  des 
arbres  des  Foreta,  arbriaseaux  et  antres  plantee,  qui  u'unt  point  ete 


\ 


I 


LIST  OF  AUTHORS. 


93 


decrites  ju8qa'  &  present  par  lea  Auteu.a,  on  pea  exactement  dessin^a,  CAnsBT. 
avec  leur  description  en  Fran(^iB  &  en  Angloia ;  a  quoi  on  a  i^odt^  des 
Observations  sur  I'Air,  le  S«l  et  les  Eaux ;  avec  des  Remarquee  sor 
I'Agriculture,  les  Qrains,  les  Legumes,  les  Racines,  &c.  Le  tout  est 
precede  d'une  Carte  nouvelle  &  exacte  des  Pays,  dont  U  s'agit,  par  M. 
Catesby,  de  la  SociStS  Royale.  Tome  I,  Londres,  1731,  &  se  vend  & 
Paris,  chez  Hippoljte  Louis  Guerin,  rile  St.  Jacques  a  St.  Thomas. 

A  second  volume  appeared  subsequently.  The  figures  are  all 
colored  after  nature.  Most  of  the  animals  and  plants  men- 
tioned are  found  in  New  France  or  Louisiana. 

iNTBODCCnON  X  L'EbSTOIRE  DB  L'ASIB,  DE  L'AlltntDE,  &  DB  L'AM^BiqtrB,  La 

pour  servir  de  suite  4  I'lntroduction  a  I'Histoire  du  Baron  de  Pufen-  **^™5''"" 
dorf  par  M.  Brazen  la  Martiniere,  Qeographe  de  sa  Mqest^  Oatholique. 
A  Amsterdam,  chez  Zacharie  Chatelain.    1785.    3  vols.    ISiO. 

In  the  second  volume  of  this  continuation  the  author  speaks 
with  much  precision  and  exactness  of  the  discoveries  and 
settlements  of  the  French,  English,  Dutch,  Swedes,  and  Danes 
on  the  islands  and  mainland  of  North  America.  He  is,  never- 
theless, rather  brief  on  the  history  of  New  France.  Nor  has 
he  followed  the  best  memoirs  on  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi 
and  the  English  settlements  north  of  Canada,  especially  in 
Hudson's  Bay. 

METHODS  FOUB  £tUDIEB  LA  OioORAFHIB,  ot  L'ON  DONNE  VNB  DEflCBIF-  LbnolST  DV 

tion  exacte  de  I'Univers,  formee  sur  les  observations  de  I'AcadSmie  *^""'"'''''* 
Roiale  des  Sciences,  avec  an  Discours  prelimlnaire  sur  I'etude  de  cette 
science,  &  un  catalogue  des  Cartes  g^ographiques,  dee  relations,  voVages, 
&  descriptions  les  plus  necessaires  pour  la  Oeograpbie.  Par  M.  I'Abbe 
Lenglet  da  Fresnoy.  2nde  edition.  A  Paris,  chez  Kollin  flls  &  de  Bure 
I'aine,  Quay  des  Augustins.    1736.    5  vols.    13o. 

The  execution  of  this  work  is  far  from  meeting  the  promises 
paraded  on  the  title,  or  the  judicious  reflections  of  the  author 
in  his  preliminary  discourse.  The  Abbe  Lenglet  du  Fresnoy 
seems  not  to  have  even  read  the  books  on  the  history  of  the 
New  World  which  he  cites,  nor  is  he  always  happy  in  the  choice 
of  those  he  does  cite. 

EPrrOHE    DE    liA    BtBLIOTHBCA   OEIENTAL    Y    OccroENTAL,    NAtlTICA    T 

greog^phica  de  D.  Antonio  de  Leon  Pinelo,  del  Consujo  de  su  Magestad 
en  la  Casa  de  la  Contractation  de  Sevilla,  j  Coronista  Mayor  de  las 
Indias,  anadido  y  enmendado  nuevamente,  &c.  Madrid,  Francisco  Mar- 
tinez Abad.  Calle  del  Olivo  baxo.  1737.  3  vols.  Polio,  of  three  columns 


)        ij 


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LlOK 

PmiLO 
Babcu. 

1787. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 

The  epitome  of  Don  Antonio  de  Leon  Pinelo  was  printed  at 
Madrid,  in  quarto,  in  1629.  In  his  preface  be  declared  it  to  be 
only  an  abridgment  of  a  larger  work,  which  he  promised  to 
give  the  public,  and  in  which  he  proposed  to  give  his  views 
fully  on  all  authors  who  have  written  on  the  Indies.  The  im- 
portant affairs  in  which  he  was  subsequently  engaged  appa- 
rently prevented  the  execution  of  his  plan,  and  it  was  carried 
out  only  in  1731  by  the  learned  and  untiring  Don  Andr6  Gon- 
zales de  Barcia,  except  the  criticism  on  the  authors,  which  he 
did  not  attempt.  It  is  astonishing  that  omitting  this  branch, 
the  work  should  have  grown  so  in  his  hands ;  but  he  might 
have  spared  himself  at  least  three-fourths  of  the  labor  bestowed, 
by  confining  himself  to  printed  or  manuscript  works,  that  one 
would  expect  to  find  in  such  a  bibliotheca,  omitting  the  word 
epitome,  which  is  misapplied  here.  Otherwise,  however,  there 
is  much  system  in  it.  The  authors  are  easy  to  find  in  the  in- 
dexes, and  ranged  in  the  body  of  the  work  under  the  countries 
of  which  they  have  spoken,  but  the  proper  names  are  often  dis- 
figured. 


LknoLIT  do  PBINCIPE8  DE  L'HiBTOIRE  POUR  L'EDCCATION  PAB  AOTTfeES  &  PAil  LE5ONB, 

1786-89.'  P'^  ^-  l'Abb€  Lenglet  da  Fresnoy.    6  toIb.    13o.    let  year,  at  Paris, 

MoBier  Pere,  Quaj  des  AugustinB  a  rOlivier,  1736;  2d  and  3d  year, 
Bame,  2  yoIb.,  1737 ;  4th  year,  RolUn  Fila,  Quay  des  AnguBtinB  a  St. 
Athanase,  1737;  5th  year,  de  Bare  I'aine,  Quay  des  Aagaatins  a  St. 
Paul,  1737.    6th  year,  same,  1789. 

These  are  pretty  fair  abridgments  of  history,  but  for  my  work 
I  found  nothing  in  them.  The  author  falls  into  fewer  faults  as 
to  America,  because  he  scarcely  speaks  of  it,  even  in  the  last 
volume,  which  treats  of  ecclesiastical  history,  for  which,  never- 
theless, the  New  World  furnished  sufficiently  ample  matter. 

Nicolas      [MEMOIREB  S0B  LEB  M<EUBB,  COUBTTTMES  ET  RELLIOION  DEB  SAUYAOES 

Pkbbot.  de    rAmerique  Septentrionale,  par  NicoIaB  Perrot,  publie    pour  la 

premiere  fois,  par  le  R.  P.  J.  Tailhan,  de  ]a  Compagnle  de  JesuB.  Leip- 
zig* Paris.    Librairie  A.  Franck.   Albert  L.  Herold,  1864.  12o,841pp.] 

I  have  also  profited  by  two  manuscripts,  the  first  of  which 
was  furnished  to  me  by  Mr.  Begon,  Intendant  at  Havre,  when 
he  was  Intendant  of  New  France.  It  is  by  a  voyageur  of 
Canada,  Nicholas  Perrot,  who  long  traversed  almost  all  New 


.^^ssasf* 


/ 


w 


LIST  OP  AUTHORS. 


95 


France,  and  was  often  employed  by  the  Governors-General,  PiMiaAOT. 
from  his  skill  in  managing  the  minds  of  the  Indians,  almost  all 
of  whose  dialects  he  spoke,  and  whose  customs  he  had  care- 
fully studied.     He  was,  moreover,  a  man  of  much  ability. 

The  other  I  received  from  M.  d'Artaguette,  who  was  Oom- 
niissaire  Ordonnateur  of  Louisiana,  and  who  had  it  from  a  man 
named  Penicaut,  who  lived  twenty  years  in  the  country,  and  was 
travelling  all  the  time.  He  was  a  man  of  sense,  who  acquired 
great  credit  among  most  of  the  Indians  of  the  continent,  and 
who  rendered  important  services  to  the  colony.  I  f(>und  in  both 
these  manuscripts  much  light  that  I  had  sought  in  vain  in 
printed  works. 

There  would,  however,  have  been  many  a  hiatus  in  my  his- 
tory if  I  had  not  found  wherewith  to  supply  them  in  the  original 
documents  preserved  at  the  Dep6t  de  la  Marine,  the  custody  of 
which  was  confided  to  the  late  M.  de  Clerambaut,  Genealogist 
of  the  King's  Orders  They  have  been  of  great  use  to  me  also 
as  guides,  to  enable  me  to  follow  more  surely  a  true  path,  when 
the  authors  whom  I  consulted  were  in  danger  of  misleading 
me.  All  the  documents  are  not  indeed  of  equal  authenticity  ; 
but  by  reading  them  attentively,  and  confronting  them  with 
each  other,  you  can  easily  find  what  to  follow.  Of  a  very  great 
number  it  is  impossible  to  dispute  the  authority ;  such  are, 
especially,  the  letters  which  the  Chevalier  de  Callieres  wrote 
regularly  every  year  to  the  Ministers,  at  the  time  when  he  was 
Governor  of  Montreal,  and  after  he  was  invested  with  the 
general  government  of  New  France.  In  them  we  see  an  intel- 
ligent, sincere,  impartial  oflScer,  aiming  solely  at  what  is  right, 
and  we  generally  find  there  light  to  clear  doubts  that  arise  in 
reading  the  dispatches  of  governors  and  intendants,  which  very 
seldom  harmonize.  These  same  dispatches,  especially  those  of 
the  first  governors,  of  Peuonville,  Frontenac,  Vaudreuil,  Cham- 
pigni,  Beauharnois,  Raudot,  and  Begon,  are,  moreover,  the  real 
source  whence  I  have  drawn  all  that  concerns  the  political  and 
military  government  of  New  France  ;  and  I  can  say,  in  propor- 
tion, the  same  of  particular  commandants,  and  of  those  who 
have  directed  Louisiana  since  it  was  made  a  distinct  govern- 
ment. 


1 


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1    :iMi 


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96 


mSTORT  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


The  D^pdt  of  Plans  of  the  Marine  has  not  been  less  useful  to 
me  in  the  geographical  part  of  my  work.  It  was  indeed  the 
more  necessary,  as  I  could  not  have  found  elsewhere  aught  to 
supply  it.  The  reader  may  judge  of  the  treasures  contained  in 
this  d6p6t  by  the  great  number  of  maps  and  plans  which  enrich 
this  work.  I  am  indebted  for  what  I  liave  drawn  from  both 
first  to  the  Count  de  Maurepas,  who  permitted  my  investigation 
of  them  ;  then  to  Mr.  de  Clerambaut,  in  charge  of  the  former  ; 
and  the  Chevalier  d' Albert,  director  of  the  latter.  The  public 
will  understand  as  well  as  myself,  that  all  the  treasures  of  the 
latter  required  to  be  put  in  order  by  a  skilful  hand,  like  that  of 
Mr.  Bellin,  chief-engineer  at  this  dep6t. 


/ 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  I 


PUn  of  the  work.  Dboovery  of  Newfoandlaod.  First  voyage  of  the  French  to  Amerioa. 
First  vo,'a((e  of  Verrazaoi.  His  secood  voyage.  His  first  landing.  Singnlar  adventure 
of  one  Oi'  his  sailom.  Verrazani  perishes  in  a  third  voyage.  Ignorance  of  the  circum- 
stances, First  voyage  of  Jacques  Cartier.  He  returns  to  France.  His  second  voyage. 
Description  of  Port  St.  Nicholas.  Origin  of  the  name  of  St.  Lawrence,  borne  by  the  gulf 
and  river  of  Canada.  Isle  AnticoBti  and  the  Sagnenay.  Isle  Orleans.  Biver  St.  Creiz,  or 
Jacques  Cartier.  Island  of  Montreal.  The  village  of  Hochelaga.  Reception  which  the 
French  met  there.  Cartier  visits  the  mountain  which  stands  on  that  island.  Origin  of 
the  name  of  Montreal.  Scurvy  carries  off  a  part  of  the  French.  The  nccount  of  Canada 
given  to  Francis  I.  by  Cartier.  Opinion  of  his  memoirs.  Canada  is  neglected  in  France. 
Remarks  on  some  passages  in  Cartier's  memoirs.  Black  men  in  the  northern  parts  of 
Canada.  The  pigmies  of  Newfoundland.  The  inhabitants  north  of  Hudson's  Bay ;  their 
mode  of  navigation  resembling  that  of  the  Esquimaux.  What  an  Esquimaux  woman,  a 
slave,  related  of  some  monstrous  men.  Mr.  de  Roberval  is  appointed  Viceroy  of  Canada. 
His  first  voyage  to  that  country.  His  second  voyage.  His  last  voyage,  in  which  he  and 
his  brother  perish.  Expedition  to  Brazil,  and  the  cause  of  its  failure.  Admiral  Coligni 
attempts  to  establish  a  French  Protestant  colony  in  Florida.  Extent  of  that  country. 
Mr.  de  Ribant  leader  of  the  expedition.  He  takes  possession  of  French  Florida.  His 
discoveries.  He  builds  u  fort.  Description  of  French  Florida.  Where  the  wealth  of  the 
Floridians  came  from.  Character  of  these  tribes.  Their  religion  and  manners.  Honors 
paid  to  their  chiefs.  The  ministers  of  their  religion.  Animals  found  in  the  country. 
Trees  peculiar  to  it.  SassafVas,  Simples.  Ribaut  returns  to  France.  Singnlar  feast  of  the 
Floridians.  Misconduct  of  Captain  Albert,  commandant  in  Florida  during  Ribaut's  ab- 
sence. Killed  by  his  own  people.  Extremity  to  which  the  colony  is  reduced.  The 
settlers  embark  to  return  to  France.  They  eat  one  of  the  party.  What  became  of  them. 
New  expedition  to  Florida.  Laudonniere  arrives  in  Florida.  Veneration  of  the  Indians 
for  the  arms  of  France.  Laudonniere  explores  the  country  around  the  Biver  May. 
Beauty  of  the  country.  The  French  allow  themselves  to  be  persuaded  that  there  are 
mines  in  Florida.  They  imprudently  plunge  into  war.  They  continue  to  explore  the 
country.  They  deliberate  on  the  site  of  the  colony.  Fort  Caroline.  Error  of  historians 
and  geographers  on  this  point.  Description  of  Caroline.  Conduct  of  the  Indians 
towards  the  French. 


BOOK  II. 

New  discoveries  in  French  Florida.    Strange  custom  of  the  Indians.    Laudonniere  refuses  to 
accompany  an  Indian  chief  in  war.    Ceremony  of  the  Floridians  before  setting  out  on  the 
war  path.    Victory  of  Satnriova.    What  passed  between  him  uud  Laudonniere  as  to  the 
Vol.  I.— 7 


I 


■i ' 

M 


' 


Itl 


B  CONTENTS. 

priannara  h«ld  by  the  l«tt«r,  Eitrtordinary  thundor,  and  lU  elfaaU.  Ideaa  of  th«  Indlani. 
Laiiduiitiiere  proflta  by  them.  Erlaoh,  with  ten  Frenohmen,  enablea  a  chief  to  gain  a  great 
victory.  Sedition  at  Caroline.  Flrmneas  of  Laudonnlere.  Several  of  the  French  diaap- 
penr.  The  mutineers  wish  to  go  on  a  piratical  cruiie.  They  force  Laudonnlere  to  sign  a 
conimiHHion.  They  separate.  Soma  are  lost.  The  others  take  some  prizes.  What  bap- 
pens  at  Jamaica.  Some  return  to  Caroline.  Punishment  of  the  most  guilty.  New  dis- 
covuries.  Adventure  of  two  Spaniards.  Various  notices  as  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Cape 
of  Florida.  Laudonnlere  makes  peace  among  the  Indians ;  his  precautions :  he  fortifies  hia 
position.  New  diacoveries.  War  renewed  among  the  Indians.  Laudonnlere  sends  aid 
to  an  allied  chief.  Victory  gained  by  the  chief  by  means  of  the  French.  The  colony  re- 
duced to  extremity  by  famine.  Violent  advice  given  to  Laudonnlere.  Its  consequences. 
The  English  arrive  in  Florida :  what  took  place  between  them  and  the  French.  Ribaut 
arrives  in  Florida.  Motives  of  hia  voyage.  Heads  of  accusation  against  Laudonnlere. 
Dangers  encouutered  by  the  fleet  before  reaching  Florida.  Laudonnlere  wishes  to  return 
to  France.  Ribaut's  reception  by  the  Indians,  and  their  proposals.  A  Spanish  squadron 
arrives  in  sight  of  the  French.  Character  of  the  commander.  Object  of  his  voyage.  The 
conditions  under  which  he  treats  with  his  royal  master.  Intolllgenoo  reaches  Madrid  of 
the  preparation  of  re-«nforcementa  for  Florida  in  France.  Resolution  adopted.  Departure 
of  General  Menendez  :  condition  of  his  forces.  Ills  fleet  Is  dispersed.  He  deliberates  aa 
to  his  course.  He  discovers  Florida.  Gets  tidings  of  the  French.  Calls  Riviere  des 
Dauphins,  St.  Augustine.  Resolves  to  attack  the  French  vessels.  What  occurred  between 
them.  He  attacks  the  French  ships,  which  escape  from  him,  and  retires  to  St.  Augustine 
River.  Council  of  war  held  at  Caroline,  aui  its  dotarmlnatlon.  Ribaut  poposes  another. 
His  obstinacy,  although  )ie  i  alone  in  b-'j  rpiniou.  He  embarks  in  sea  ch  of  the  Span- 
iardH.  Menendez  takes  possession  of  St.  Augustine  River.  The  French  are  surprised  by 
a  furious  storm  at  the  moment  when  the  Spaniards  could  not  escape  them.  Address  of 
Menendez  to  his  officers.  His  plan  for  attacking  Caroline.  His  troops  mutiny ;  his  resolve. 
Seditious  conduct  of  one  of  his  captains.  Menendez  marches  towards  Caroline.  Sutfer- 
iDgs  of  his  army  on  the  march.  He  consults  his  officers  aa  to  his  course.  Reply  of  some. 
His  advice  is  to  attack  Caroline.  His  advice  is  approved.  He  prepares  to  attack  it.  Con- 
dition of  the  place.  It  is  surprised.  What  happens  to  three  French  ships  anchored  before 
Caroline.  What  befell.  Laudonniere  after  the  capture  of  his  fort.  Misconduct  of  young 
Ribaut.  Laudonniere  arrives  in  Franco.  The  Spaniards  hang  several  of  the  French. 
Caroliuo  is  named  San  Mateo.  Menendez  returns  to  St.  Augustine.  He  is  received  there  in 
triumph.  Fire  nt  San  Mateo.  The  ship  San  Pelayo  taken  by  the  French.  Menendez  receives 
unwelcome  intelligence  of  his  fleet.  Shipwreck  of  Ribaut.  Contradiction  between  the 
bistoriuns  of  the  two  nations.  Singular  adventure  of  a  sailor.  Spanish  account  of  what 
happened  after  Ribaut's  shipwreck.  Indiflference  of  the  Court  as  to  the  transactions  in 
Florida.  Who  was  the  Chevolier  de  Qourgues?  Hia  early  adventures.  He  prepares  to 
drive  the  Spaniards  out  of  Florida.  His  departure  from  France.  Arrival  in  Cuba.  Ad- 
dress to  bis  men.  Reaches  Florida.  Disposition  in  which  he  finds  the  Indians.  League 
concluded  between  them  and  the  French.  Preparations  to  attack  San  Mateo.  March  on 
the  first  fort.  Its  capture.  Exploit  of  an  Indian.  The  second  fort  is  abandoned  on  the 
approach  of  the  Indians.  Preparations  to  attack  San  Mateo.  March  on  the  place.  Its 
capture.  Booty  found  tliere.  The  prisoners  are  hung.  Label  put  np  at  the  place  of 
their  execution.  Reflections  on  this  conduct.  Florida  evacuated  by  the  French.  Tlie 
Chevalier  de  Qourgues  arrives  in  France.  In  danger  of  being  carried  off  by  the  Spaniards, 
Obliged  to  remain  concealed.    Hia  death. 


'      \ 


(CONTENTS. 


99 


BOOK    III. 


'  \ 


Attempi''  of  tb6  Mirquli  de  la  Boohe  to  settle  Canada,  of  which  he  had  been  appointed  vio*- 
roy.  His  commission.  Failure.  Description  of  Sable  Island,  where  ho  landed.  Hla 
errors.  Cbauvin  succeeds  him.  His  voyages  and  mistakes.  The  Commander  do  Cbatta 
succeeds  him,  and  forms  a  company.  He  dies  soon  after.  First  voyage  of  de  Obamplain 
to  Canada.  De  Monts  acquires  the  rights  of  Commander  de  Chatte.  Qoea  to  Acadia. 
Description  of  the  country.  Wretched  settlement  on  Isle  de  Salute  Croix.  Hardships 
experienced  there.  De  Monts  transports  his  oolony  to  Port  Royal.  Description  of  that 
port,  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  St.  John's  River.  Singular  tree.  Port  Royal  granted  to 
Poutrlnoourt.  De  Monts  loses  his  exclusive  privilege.  Extremity  to  which  the  colony  is 
reduced.  Seasonable  relief.  Faults  and  misfortunes  of  do  Monts.  Description  of  Port 
Canso.  De  Monts  retrieves  himself  somewhat.  Foundation  of  Quebec.  Henry  IV. 
wishes  Jesuits  sent  to  Acadia.  Opposition  to  this  order.  Two  Jesuits  arrive  at  Port 
Royal.  Character,  manners,  a.  i  customs  of  the  Indians  of  Acadia.  Their  ill-treatment 
by  some  of  the  French.  Pride  of  the  ohiefli.  Abundance  of  every  thing  In  Acadia. 
History  of  Mambertou,  one  of  their  ohlo&.  He  Is  baptized.  Falls  sick.  The  mission- 
aries embarrassed.  His  edifying  death.  Father  Biart  visits  the  Csnibas,  or  Abnakls. 
RIdlculoua  idea  of  an  Indian.  What  retarded  the  progress  of  the  Qospel.  A  new  settl»- 
ment  projected.  The  misaionaries  leave  Port  Royal  and  make  a  new  settlement,  called 
St.  Sauveur.  Description  of  PentogoSt.  Observations  on  the  timber  of  these  countries. 
Situation  of  St.  Sauveur.  Extravagant  customs  of  the  Malecites,  Indians  of  these  cantons. 
A  dying  child  restored  by  means  of  baptism.  Eleven  English  ships  at  PentagoSt.  They 
seize  St.  Sauveur.  Villany  of  the  commandant.  What  became  of  the  French  of  St, 
Sauveur  after  the  capture  of  the  post.  The  English  oommander  aclinowledges  hla  vil- 
lany to  save  the  life  of  the  French.  He  seizes  Port  Royal.  Various  adventures  of  the 
French  settlers  of  St.  Sauveur.  Noble  conduct  of  thioe  Jesuits.  How  they  are  received 
In  England.    Faults  committed  by  all  concerned  In  the  settlement  of  Acadia. 


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HISTORY 

an 
GENEBAL   DESCRIPTION 

NEW  FRA:N"0E: 


WBIBSIN    WILL    BS    VOTJIID 


ALL  THAT  RELATES  TO  THE  DISCOVERIES  AND  CONQUESTS 
OF  THE  FRENCH  IN  NORTH  AMERICA. 


\ 


BOOK    I. 


i 


Men  speak  bo  differently  among  us  of  the  settlements  pun  of  tha 
which  we  have  made  at  different  times  in  North  America,  ^°'^" 
that  I  have  been  led  to  believe  that  I  would  please  the 
public,  as  well  as  render  a  service  to  my  native  country,  if 
to  the  observations  made  by  me  in  traversing  those  vast 
countries,  where  France  possesses  a  territory  greater  than 
the  continent  of  Europe,  I  added  an  exact  and  connected 
history  of  all  the  memorable  events  that  have  occurred 
there  in  the  last  two  centuries  and  more. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  motive  which  leads  me  to  the 
tapk.  FeeUng  that  if  I  owe  myself  to  the  State  as  a  citi- 
zen, my  profession  also  obliges  me  to  serve  the  Church,  and 
to  devote  to  it  at  least  a  part  of  my  vigils,  I  have  also  re- 
solved to  undertake  this  work,  in  the  desire  to  make  known 
the  mercies  of  the  Lord,  and  the  triumph  ot  religion  over 


i 


lOd 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  PRANCE. 


^i 


Plan  of  the  that  Small  number  of  the  elect,  predestined  before  all  ages, 
amid  so  many  savage  tribes,  which,  till  the  French  entered 
their  country,  had  lain  buried  in  the  thickest  darkness  of 
infidelity.  Lastly,  I  have  had  in  view  to  rescue  from 
oblivion  many  illustrious  personages,  whose  names  deserve 
to  go  down  to  posterity,  and  to  show  that  the  obscurity  in 
which  they  have  remained  till  now,  does  not  spring  from 
any  mediocrity  of  merit. 

I  shall  easily  concede  to  the  Spaniards  that  ve  have  not 
had  in  the  New  World  explorers,  conquerors,  founders  of 
colonies,  to  be  compared  with  those  of  their  nation  who  have 
appeared  with  most  renown  on  the  theatre  of  the  New  World, 
if,  with  their  personal  merit,  we  put  in  the  scale  the  greatness 
of  their  conquests  and  the  wealth  of  the  provinces  where- 
with they  have  enriched  their  kingdom.  But  if  we  divest 
them  of  aU  that  is  fore'^n  to  them,  and  what  they  owe  to 
the  favorable  circumstances  of  their  position ;  if,  in  these 
famous  men,  we  distinguish  what  is  properly  theirs, — their 
virtues,  talents,  valor,  good  conduct, — we  shall  perhaps  be 
able  to  bring  forward  navigators  as  able,  bold,  and  perse- 
vering as  their  Columbus,  Americup  Vesputius,  Magellan ; 
and  conquerors,  who,  with  all  the  bravery  and  intrepidity 
of  the  Balboas,  Cortez,  Almagros,  Pizarros,  and  Valdivias, 
were  not  stained  with  their  vices.  I  wiU  not  push  this 
parallel  further ;  it  is  for  the  public  to  judge  of  the  merit 
of  those  wb'^se  actions  are  portrayed  to  them.  The  histo- 
rian's duty  is  to  give  a  faithful  account,  and  furnish  accu- 
rately and  without  bias  the  authorities  on  which  he  bases 
his  judgment ;  and  this  I  will  here  endeavor  to  do  with  all 
the  care  and  sincerity  in  my  power. 

It  has  always  been  regarded  in  France  as  one  of  the 
dreams  of  WiUiam  Postel,  that  a  large  part  of  the  North 
American  coast  had  been  frequented,  even  before  the 
Christian  era,  by  the  people  of  Gaul,  who  abandoned  it, 
said  he,  only  because  they  found  there  nothing  but  uncul- 
tivated lands,  and  vast  regions  without  a  city,  ^.nd  almost 
without  an  inhabitant ;  as  if  the  fisheries,  from  which,  as  ho 


I  i 


V! 


!  i 


Vi 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


105 


H77- 


avers  in  the  same  place,  the  Gauls  derived  immense  profit, 
would  not  have  been  a  sufficient  inducement  to  continue 
the  trade.' 

Some  authors  have  advanced  that,  in  1477,  John  Scalve,'  Discovery 
a  Pole,  explored  Estotiland  and  a  part  of  Labrador  or  Newfonnd- 
Laborador ;  but  Estotiland  is  now  regarded  as  a  fabulous       '"  ' 
country,  that  never  existed  except  in  the  imagination  of 
the  brothers  Zani,  noble  Venetians ;  and  besides,  we  know 
no  details  of  the  expedition  of  the  PoUsh  voyager,  which 
was  not  followed  up,  and  made  no  great  noise  in  the 
world.     It  is  more  certain  that  about  the  year  1497  a 
Venetian  named  John  Oabot  or  Gaboto,  and  his  three 
sons,  who  had  fitted  out  at  the  expense,  or  at  least  under 
the  authority  of  Henry  VII.,  King  of  England,  discovered 
Newfoundland  and  a  part  of  the  neighboring  continent. 
It  is  even  added  that  they  took  back  to  London  four 
Indians  of  those  parts.    But  good  authors  have  written 
that  they  landed  nowhere,  either  on  island  or  continent.' 

About  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  voyage  of  a  Portu- 
guese gentleman  named  Gaspar  de  Cortereal,  who  in  1500 
visited  all  the  eastern  shore  of  Newfoundland,  and  then 
ran  along  a  good  part  of  Labrador.  It  cannot  indeed  be 
denied  that  he  landed  in  several  places,  and  gave  names, 
some  of  which  still  remain ;  but  there  is  no  proof  that  this 
navigator  made  any  settlement.*  The  Portuguese,  accus- 
tomed to  milder  climates,  and  soon  after  engaged  in  reap- 
ing the  treasures  of  Africa,  the  East  Indies,  and  Brazil, 
doubtless  despised  a  country  buried  more  than  half  the 


'  Terra  ilia  ob  lucratissimam  pis- 
catlonis  utilitatem  summaliterarum 
memoria  a  Qallis  adiri  solita,  et  ante 
mille  Bexcentos  annos  frequentari 
coepta  est,  sed  eo  quod  urbibus  in- 
culta  et  vasta,  apreta  est. 

'  Ivan  w'  Eolna,  John  of  Eolno,  a 
Polish  pilot  in  the  Norwegian  service, 
was  sent  in  1476  with  supplies  to 
Greenland.  For  the  Zeno  brothers, 
see  Ramusio,  i.  223. 


'As  to  the  Tojages  of  the  Cabots 
in  1407  and  1498,  the  best  work  is 
"  A  Memoir  of  Sebastian  Cabot,  with 
a  Review  of  the  History  of  Maritime 
Discovery,"  by  Charles  Biddle,  Phil- 
adelphia, 8vo,  1831.  The  earliest 
authority  as  to  the  voyage  of  Sebas- 
tian alone,  in  1498,  is  Peter  Martyr, 
Decade  ill.,  lib.  6. 

*  Letter  of  Pietro  Pasqualigo  to  his 
brother,  Oct,  19, 1501  (Bancroft,  i.  14), 


|i'  ii 


'M 


I 


h 


^i  m 


'?  ■  M 


mm 


106 


mSTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


First  vo; 


t  voy- 
oftbe 


i5°4-  year  in  snow,  with  nothing  but  fish,  the  value  of  which 
was  not  recognized  then,  where  the  people  were  unfriendly, 
not  easy  to  reduce,  and  had  no  riches  except  the  skins 
in  which  they  were  attired. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  from  the  year  1504,  Basque,  Nor- 
"l^renoh  to'  man,  and  Breton  fishermen  took  cod  on  the  great  bank  of 
America.  j^^g^Qundland  and  along  the  seacoast  of  Canada ;'  and  I 
find  in  trustworthy  memoirs  that  in  1506  John  I/enys,  an 
inhabitant  of  Honfleur,  traced  a  map  of  tiie  gulf  which 
now  bears  the  name  of  St.  Lawrence.*  Vincent  le  Blano 
relates,  in  his  Voyages,  that  about  the  same  time  Velaaco, 
a  Spanish  captain,  went  two  hundred  leagues  up  the  river 
which  empties  into  the  gulf,  and  to  which  the  same  name 
has  been  given ;  that  he  then  ran  up  along  the  coast  of 
Labrador  to  the  river  Nevado,  discovered,  it  is  said,  by 
Cortereal,  but  which  is  now  unknown. 

The  statements  of  this  author  are,  however,  so  confused 
and  embarrassed,  so  destitute  of  dates,  and  of  all  that 
throws  light  on  a  relation,  that  we  are  often  unable  to  find 
any  thing  on  which  to  base  even  a  probable  conjecture.  It 
is  too  mixed  up  with  matters  evidently  fabulous,  such  as 
his  accoimt  of  the  gigantic  stature  of  the  natives,  that  we 
are  surprised  to  see  similar  tales  in  a  work  enjoying,  never- 
theless, some  reputation.  It  is  not  enough  for  a  traveller 
to  be  sincere ;  if  he  undertakes  to  supply  from  other 
memoirs  what  he  has  not  seen  himself,  he  cannot  be  too 
guarded  in  selecting. 

In  1508  a  Dieppe  pilot  named  Thomas  Aubert  brought 
some  Canadian  Indians  to  France ;'  but  there  is  appa- 


\^ 


'  H 


m 


'  Wytfliet,  Histoirs  des  Indes,  p. 
131 ;  Lescarlwt,  Paris,  1618,  p.  296  ; 
Biard,  Relation  de  la  Nouvelle 
France,  de  B*e  terras.  Naturel  du 
Pays,  etc.,  Lyon,  1616,  ch.  i.;  Cham- 
plain,  Voyages  (ed.  1632),  p.  9.  Na- 
varretw  (vol.  iii.  176-180),  denies  the 
French  claim.    (See  ante,  25-27.) 

'  DiBOorso  di  un  Gran  Capitano,  in 
Ramusio,  iii.  350.    This  document. 


written  apparently  in  1S30,  gives  also 
the  name  of  Denys'  pilot,  Qamart  of 
Rouen. 

'  Biard,  Relation  de  la  Nonvelle 
France,  Lyon,  1616,  chap.  i. ;  Davity, 
Description  du  Monde,  1660,  vol.  v. 
p.  26 ;  Histoire  de  Dieppe,  cited  Vy 
Ferland,  p.  1 2.  According  to  the  lua- 
torians  of  Dieppe,  Verazzano  com 
manded  one  of  Aubert 's  vessels 


» 


\\ 


to 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

rentlj  no  foundation  for  the  assertion  that  the  navigator 
explored  the  country  by  order  of  Louis  XII.,  as  it  is  con- 
stantly admitted  in  our  history  that  our  kings  paid  no 
attention  to  America  before  the  year  1523.'  Then  Francis 
I.,  wishing  to  excite  the  emulation  of  his  subjects  in  re- 
gard to  navigation  and  commerce,  as  he  had  already  so 
successfully  in  regard  to  the  sciences  and  fine  arts,  ordered 
John  Verazani,  who  was  in  his  service,  to  go  and  explore 
the  New  Lands,  which  began  to  be  much  talked  of  in 
France.'  And  here  I  cannot  refrain  from  remarking  inci- 
dentally how  glorious  it  is  for  Italy  that  the  three  powers 
which  now  divide  among  them  almost  all  America,  owe 
their  first  discoveries  to  Italians :  namely,  the  Spaniards, 
to  Columbus,  a  Genoese  ;  the  English,  to  John  Gabot  and 
his  sons,  Venetians ;  and  the  French,  to  Verazani,  a  Floren- 
tine. I  would  add  to  these  illustrious  men  another  Flo- 
rentine (Americus  Vesputius),  who  rendered  great  services 
to  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  in  the  New  World,  if  he 
owed  to  his  merit,  and  not  to  a  trick  tinworthy  of  an 
honest  man,  the  glory  he  has  had  of  giving  his  name  to 
the  greatest  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  known  world.' 

Verazani  was  accordingly  sent,  in  1523,  with  four  ships 
to  discover  North  America ;  but  our  historians  have  not 
spoken   of  his  first  expedition,'  and  we  should  be  in 


'  Charlevoix  does  not  mention  in 
his  Chronology,  nor  notice  here,  de 
Leri's  attempt  to  colonize  Sable  Isl- 
and in  1508,  although  he  refers  to  it 
when  speaking  of  the  Marquis  de  la 
Roche.  Lescarbot  seems  the  only 
anthority  for  it  (Histoire  de  la  Nou- 
velle  France,  1618,  p.  21).  With  his 
usual  fondness  for  titles,  he  gives 
those  of  this  ignored  colonizer  as 
"  Le  Sieur  Baron  de  Leri  et  de  St. 
Just,  Vicomte  de  Queu.  Champlain 
makes  no  allusion  to  tho  Baron's 
attempt.  Tht  anonymous  great  cap- 
tain in  Ramusio  (iii.,  359)  says  that 
the  Pens^e,  of  which  Aubert  was 


master,  belonged  to  "  Qiovan  Ango, 
padre  del  Monsiguor  lo  Capitano, 
&  Visconte  di  Diej  pi." 

'  For  a  discussion  as  to  the  authen- 
ticity of  Verazzano's  voyage,  see 
Buckingham  Smith,  "  An  Inqciry 
into  the  Authenticity  of  Documents," 
etc.,  New  York,  1864 ;  Historical 
Magazine,  iz.  p.  169. 

'  Vesputius  was  in  all  probability 
ignorant  of  the  use  of  his  name  in  the 
work  of  Hylacomylus,  printed  at  Lor- 
raine in  1507. 

'  The  earliest  French  allusion  to 
Verazzano  is  in  Thevet's  Cosmogra- 
pbie  Universelle,  1575. 


107 


1523. 


,4r 


106 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


Toyago. 


1S24-  ignorance  of  it  now,  had  not  Bamusio  preserved  in  his 
"■^f"""^  great  collection  a  letter  of  Verazani  himself,  addressed 
to  Francis  I.,  and  dated  Dieppe,  July  8,  ISiJi.'  In  it  he 
supposes  the  king  already  informed  of  the  success  and 
details  of  the  voyage,  so  that  he  contents  himself  with 
stating  that  he  sailed  from  Dieppe  in  four  vessels,  which 
he  had  safely  brought  back  to  that  port.  In  January, 
1524,  he  sailed  with  two  ships,  the  Dauphine  and  the 
Normande,  to  cniise  against  the  Spaniards.' 

152$.  Towards  the  close  of  the  same  year,  or  early  in  the  next, 
Hi»  seoond  he  again  fitted  out  the  Dauphine,  on  which,  embarking 
with  fifty  men,  and  provisions  for  eight  mouths,  he  first 
sailed  to  the  island  of  Madeira.  He  left  it  on  the  17th  of 
January,  1525,  with  a  light  east  wind,  which  lasted  till  the 
20th  of  February,  carrying  him,  according  to  his  estimate, 
five  hundred  leagues  westward.  A  violent  tempest  then 
brought  him  to  the  verge  of  shipwreck ;  but  calm  return- 
ing, he  resumed  his  course  without  accident,  and  found 
himself  oflf  a  low  shore.  He  ran  up,  but  perceiving  it  to 
be  thickly  peopled,  did  not  venture  to  land  with  his  small 
force.  He  turned  south,  and  ran  fifty  leagues  without  find- 
ing any  harbor  where  he  could  put  his  ship  in  safety, 
which  obhged  him  to  turn  back.     He  was  not  fortunate 


1! 


w 


■'  \ , 


>  This  letter  does  not  suBtain  Char- 
levoix as  to  the  voyage  in  1S23  v<dth 
four  ships.  Champlain  (ed.  1632,  p. 
0)  mentions  a  voyage  of  1S23,  and 
LescarlMt  (ed.  1618,  p.  3)  one  of  1S20, 
both  evidently  in  error.  Lescarbot, 
p.  21,  gives  the  corrvct  date,  1624. 
Ferland  (Cours  d'Histoire,  i.  16)  very 
properly  reduces  the  three  voyages 
described  by  Charlevoix  to  one  in 
1624    (See  ante,  p.  34.) 

■  The  modern  author  of  the  "  En- 
aayo  Cronologico  para  la  Historia  de 
la  Florida"  (Madrid,  1723,  p.  8, 1), 
treats  Verazani  as  a  corsair,  and 
places  this  first  voyage  in  1624 ;  but 
he  is  mistaken.    He  also  pretends, 


inappositely,  that  having  been  taken 
ttiat  year  by  some  Biscayans,  he  was 
conducted  as  a  prisoner  to  Seville, 
and  thence  to  Madrid,  and  then  to 
Puerto  del  Pico,  where  he  was  hung. 
It  is  nevertheless  certain  that  Vera- 
zani cruised  for  several  years  against 
the  Spaniards,  imder  a  ccnunission 
of  the  French  king,  then  at  war  with 
Charles  V.  By  what  right,  had  he 
been  taken,  nould  they  have  treated 
lum  as  a  pirate,  and  not  as  a  prisoner 
of  wntf—Charlewix.  The  cruise  of 
the  Dauphine  and  Normande  waa 
evidently  in  1623.  He  sailed  in  the 
Dauphine  alone  for  America,  Jan. 
17,1624.    (Bamusio.) 


I       ■:' 


HISTORY  OF  NEW   FRANCE. 


109 


il 


\\\ 


»s»s« 


Hli  flnt 
laodlny. 


northward,  so  that  he  was  compelled  to  anchor  off  shore 
and  send  his  longboat  to  examine  the  coast  more  closely. 

As  this  boat  ran  up,  the  shore  was  found  lined  with 
Indians,  in  whom  were  witnessed  at  once  tokens  of  sur- 
prise, admiration,  joy,  and  fear ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to  judge 
from  the  letter  written  by  Verazani  to  the  king  at  what 
degree  of  latitude  he  first  discovered  land,  nor  precisely 
how  far  north  he  ascended.  Lescarbot  says  that  he  dis- 
covered all  the  country  between  the  thirtieth  and  fortieth 
degrees  of  north  latitude,  but  he  cites  no  authorities.'  Vera- 
zani simply  informs  us  that  fi'om  the  place  where  he  per- 
ceived land  for  the  first  time,  he  coasted  always  in  sight 
for  fifty  leagues,  always  going  south  ;  which  he  could  not 
do,  as  the  coast  lies,  if  his  first  landing  had  been  further 
north  than  thirty-three  degrees.  He  even  says,  in  express 
terms,  that  after  having  sailed  some  time,  he  found  himself 
at  34"  north.  Thence,  he  adds,  the  coast  turns  east.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  having  resumed  his  northerly  course,  and 
seeing  no  port,  apparently  because  he  did  not  run  near 
enough  to  land  to  distinguish  the  mouths  of  rivers,  his 
want  of  water  forced  hLa  to  send  out  his  boat  to  get  a 
supply;  but  the  waves  ran  so  high  that  his  boat  could 
never  land. 

Meanwhile  the  Indians,  by  all  sorts  of  demonstrations,  Smgniar 
invited  the  French  to  approach;  and  a  young  sailor,  who  of  a  sailor! 
was  an  expert  swimmer,  finally  ventured  to  leap  into  the 
water,  after  taking  some  presents  for  the  savages.  He  was 
not  more  than  a  gunshot  from  land,  and  was  only  waist- 
high  in  the  water,  when  fear  seized  him  ;  he  threw  aU  he 
had  to  the  Indians,  and  began  to  swim  back  to  the  boat. 
But  at  that  moment  a  breaker  rolling  in  threw  him  up  on 
the  beach  with  such  violence,  that  he  lay  stretched  there 
senseless.  Verazani  says,  tliat  having  lost  his  footing,  and 
his  strength  failing,  he  was  on  the  point  of  drowning,  when 
the  Indians  ran  to  his  aid  and  took  him  ashore. 

>  Lescarb.,  Hist,  de  la  Nouv.  Fr.  (1612),  p.  833.  Champlain  says,  33°  to  47°. 


■Wi 


'•  V. 


>.  I 


I 


110  HISTORY   OF  NEW    FRANCE. 

152$.  He  was  apparently  some  time  in  their  arms  without 
being  aware  i)f  it.  When  he  came  to  himHelf,  he  was 
seized  with  terror,  and  began  to  cry  out  at  the  top  of  his 
voice.  The  Indians,  to  reassure  him,  cried  out  louder  still, 
which  produced  just  the  contrary  effect  from  what  they 
intended.  They  at  last  made  him  sit  down  at  the  foot  of 
a  hill,  and  turned  his  face  to  the  sun  ;  then,  having  kindled 
a  large  fire  near  him,  they  stripped  him  naked.  He  now 
had  no  further  doubt  but  that  they  intended  to  bum  him, 
and,  as  he  imagined,  in  sacrifice  to  the  sun.  His  suppo- 
sition was  shared  by  those  in  the  ship,  wiience  all  the 
transaction  could  be  seen,  but  where  they  could  only  de- 
plore his  lot. 

He  began,  however,  to  conceive  better  hopes  when  he 
saw  them  drying  his  clothes,  and  not  putting  him  nearer 
the  fire  than  was  necessary  to  warm  him.  He  trembled 
indeed  all  over,  but  undoubtedly  more  from  fear  than  cold. 
The  Indians,  on  their  side,  caressed  him,  which  only  half 
reassured  him,  and  we..e  incessantly  admiring  the  white- 
ness of  his  skin.  His  beard,  and  the  hair  which  they  saw 
in  several  parts  of  his  body,  where  they  have  none,  as- 
tonished them  still  more.  At  last  they  gave  him  back 
his  clothes,  and  gave  him  food ;  and  as  he  showed  great 
impatience  to  go  back  to  his  companions,  they  took  him 
flown  to  the  shore,  and  held  him  for  some  time  in  their 
embrace,  thus  showing  in  no  equivocal  manner  their  regret 
to  part  with  him.  They  then  drew  oflf  a  short  distance  to 
leave  him  at  liberty ;  and  when  they  saw  him  swim  ofi', 
they  went  up  on  a  hill,  and  did  not  lose  sight  of  him  till 
he  got  up  into  the  ship. 

'the  other  details  of  this  vc  ?age  are  not  interesting  or 
even  very  intelligible.  We  know  the  countries  which  Ver- 
azani  visited  much  better  than  he  did  when  he  made  the 
king,  his  master,  a  report  of  this  second  expedition  ;  and 
the  spots  where  he  landed  no  longer  bear  the  names  which 
he  gave  them.  He  ends  the  memoir  which  he  presented 
to  Francis  I.  by  saying,  that  he  went  very  near  an  island 


1 


\\ 


' 


w 


■■  '.7 . 


v%  ?^ 


<  «,  '  ■  t   •(' 


tin 


III 


mifPDRV  or  vvM  m*i»«'»i. 


>J8J.         H«  WM   H()paientlv  Moton  ttmo  iti  ^hmi   *« 


li  '.il 


being  Hwuro  i'l 
seized  witli  ten. 
voico.    'n*  f 


\9n   li«*  tuntf  (« 


aD«),  iifi  ho  iinn(<iui '       i  sfecnlWio  t«  ttic  Hiin.     iftA  Huppo 
Hitiou  w««  Hhared  by  t>«^«<f  in  tMVibip,  whence  ull  tlio 
tiftnftactioi)  ronld  t)v  etti.!,    -at  wW^     »Wy  could  onlr  fl«'- 
jUx>ro  h\h  lot.  ■'     '■ 


•»•>  ^'in  drfiui;  hi* 


iu  yoToral  partB  f>i  m*  ■ 
toui»L*'(l  them  8till  iu45t( 


m<»T<-  froiB  fonr  4iAn  roln. 

fisd  iiiih,  ^hJcii  >'uly  ba)f 

r        .«ntlj  «!u»Hiijg  tlio  whik- 

1,  ,%r    ibu  hA)*#hi4th  tlioj-  »ftw 

><iy,  aIi'ic  tJiey  have  uono,  hs- 

At  i.'Ht  they  gsiTo  him  hm-k 


his  clothoH,  ftnd  g»ve  l-ijn  {o«>d;  M»d  "    ^e  thowod  great 


impiiti 
df. 

•Mi 

iH*Ti»  Mu  at  liberty }  «ftd  M'k;i  .1 


y  took  )iin) 
1  thi'ir 

i.  to 

^>*»  *»w  faftiK  iwHii  •>ff, 
thej  went  up  on  jvIb^,  tfi<i  4^4  AtHt  J«*  ^^*fi«vf  IfcUB  till 
ho  got  np  into  thf'  tftup. 

Tho  uth^r  details  of  U»iff 
even  fery  ijifc«4iJgibIo.     W« 
MUHu  '4iMi«d  much  better  tht>  < 
ki&K.  bi*  uirtst<'r,  H  rtiporl  <■•'' 
ib<  )*fi<>t«  wh«»rp  he  lauiled  O'  > 
he  ^'Atp  them.     He  ends  tlie 
to  P>i*ju'i8  I.  by  saying,  thai 


">■  '.ii? 


..rv'  ■.!"t  iJiie>'u«ttin)i;  -i* 
Me  *-hitl)t  V«r- 
>i  hf  M»de  ^«* 


'h 


r 


J  Acgu  I  >■  cm;  t  I  I  H 


t  I! 


il 

[d 

:                  L 

1 

i         \ 

1 

I 


lU 


r\ 


!t 


mSTOBY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


HI 


which  the  Bretons  had  discovered,  and  which  lies  at  50° 
north  latitude.  If  he  was  not  mistaken  in  his  reckoning, 
the  island  thus  mentioned  is  undoubtedly  Newfoundland, 
which  the  Bretons  had  loig  visited  to  fish  :  he,  moreover, 
asserts,  that  before  reaching  that  island,  he  coasted  along 
the  mainland  for  seven  hundred  leagues,  which  is  very  far 
from  Lescarbot's  figures.' 

Soon  after  his  return  to  France,  he  fitted  out  a  new  ex- 
pedition, with  the  view  of  planting  a  colony  in  America. 
All  that  we  know  of  this  enterprise  is,  that  having  em- 
barked, he  was  seen  no  more,  and  nothing  was  certainly 
known  of  his  fate  ;'  for  I  find  no  ground  for  the  statement 
made  by  some,  that,  having  landed  on  a  spot  where  he 
wished  to  build  a  fort,  the  Indians  fell  upon  him,  butch- 
ered him  and  all  his  people,  and  devoured  them.'  It  is 
more  certain  that  the  unhappy  lot  of  Yerazani  was  the 
reason  why,  for  several  years,  neither  the  king  nor  the 
nation  gave  any  more  thought  of  America.* 

At  last,  ten  years  after,  Philip  Chabot,  Admiral  of 
France,'  induced  the  king  to  resume  the  project  of  found- 
ing a  French  colony  in  the  New  World,  whence  the  Span- 
iards daily  drew  such  great  wealth ;  and  he  presented  to 
him  a  captain  of  St.  Malo,  by  name  Jacques  Cartier,  whose 
merit  he  knew,  and  whom  that  prince  accepted.  Cartier 
having  received  his  instructions,  left  St.  Malo  the  2d  of 
April,  1534,'  with  two  ships  of  sixty  tons,  and  one  hun- 


1525, 


■  Thib  voyage,  here  given  as  of 
1525,  must  be  ascribed  to  1534,  as 
Yerazzani's  report  of  it  is  dated  July 
8, 1524.    Lescarbot  (ed.  1612),  p.  38. 

>  The  third  voyage  of  Verazzani, 
and  his  doath  on  it,  are  supported 
solely  by  the  Cosmog^raphie  Univer- 
HelledeThevet  (1375). 

*  Lescarbot  (ed.  1612,  p.  41)  says, 
at  Cape  Breton. 

«  Count  of  Buzensais  2nd  Chargni, 
Seigneur  de  Briou. 

>  See  the  Chronological  Epochs  of 
the  New  World,  ann.  1525.— Oharle- 


Yerazani 

dies  in  a 

third 

voyage. 


1584. 
First  voy- 
age or 
Jacques 
Cartier. 


voix.  The  account  of  Verazzani's  voy- 
age is  in  Ramusio,  Navigation!,  Ve- 
netia,  15G6,  fol.,  vol.  iii.,  and  a  trans- 
lation of  another  edition  in  N.  T. 
Historical  Society  Collections,  series 
3,  vol.  1,  New  York,  1844. 

•  Ramusio,  iii.  436  ;  Hakluyt,  iii. 
201  ;  Discovrs  dv  Voyage  fidt  par 
le  Capitaine  laqvee  Cartier,  Rouen, 
1598  (rep.  1865,  p.  18).  All  these 
give  the  date  as  April  20th,  not  2d. 
See  Documents  sur  Jacques  Cartier, 
Quebec  Lit  and  Hist.  Soc.  Ram€, 
Documents  In^dits  sur  Jacques  Car- 


- 1 
s 


112 


fflSTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1534.  dred  and  twenty-two  men.'  He  steered  west,  inclining 
slightly  north,  and  had  such  fair  winds,  that,  on  the  10th 
of  May,  he  made  Cape  Bonnavista,  in  Newfoundland,  at  46° 
north.  Cartier  found  the  land  there  still  covered  with 
snow,  and  the  shore  fringed  with  ice,  so  that  he  could  not 
or  dared  not  stop.  He  ran  down  six  degrees  south-south- 
east, and  entered  a  port  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  St. 
Catharine.' 

Thence  he  turned  t  ack  north,  and  made  islands  which,  in 
his  memoirs,  he  calls  Isles  des  Oyseaux — Bird  Islands.' 
They  are,  ht  says,  fourteen  leagues  from  Newfoundland, 
and  he  was  much  surprised  to  see  a  white  bear  as  large  as 
a  cow,  which  had  swum  across.  As  soon  as  this  animal 
perceived  the  boats  which  were  going  ashore,  it  took  to 
the  water,  and  the  next  day  Cartier  having  met  it  quite 
near  Newfoundland,  killed  and  captured  it.  T^^  then 
coasted  along  aJl  the  northern  part  of  that  great  island, 
and  he  says  that  you  meet  nowhere  else  better  ports  or  a 
more  wretched  country ;  on  every  side  it  is  nothing  but 
frightful  rocks,  stenle  lands  covered  with  a  scanty  moss ; 
no  trees,  but  only  some  bushes  half  dried  up  ;  that  never- 
theless he  found  men  there  well  made,  who  wore  their  hair 
tied  on  the  top  of  the  head,  like  a  bundle  of  hay,  to  use  his 
expression,  with  birds'  feathers  irregularly  inserted,  which 
had  a  most  curious  effect.* 

After  making  almost  the  circuit  of  Newfoundland, 
though  without  being  able  to  satisfy  himself  that  it  was  an 
island,  he  took  a  southerly  course,  crossed  the  gulf,  ap- 
proached the  continent,  and  entered  a  very  deep  bay, 
where  he  sutt'ered  greatly  from  heat,  whence  he  called  it 


w 


tier  (Paris,  1866),  p.  3,  gives  a  docu- 
ment, dated  March  19,  1533,  which 
Beeme  to  ebow  that  he  was  then  at- 
tempting to  Bail  to  America. 

>  The  text  of  Ramusio  seems  to 
make  this  niuuber  in  each  vessel, 
but  the  DisoovTs  du  Voyage  rixty- 
one  in  each.    See  also  Haklayt,  iii. ; 


Faillon,  Histoire  de  hi  Colonie  Fran- 
<;aise  en  Canada,  7  n. 

»  Now  Catalina  ;  Feriand,   Coure 
d'Histoire,  18  n. 

•  Now  Funk  Island,  (ib.) ;  Hakluy  t, 
iii.  202  ;  Kscovre  du  Voyage,  p.  18. 

*  Ramusio,  iii.  486 ;  Discovrs  du 
Voyage,  p.  55. 


f-..^^l$A£^ 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


118 


Chaleurs  Bay.'    He  was  charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the     1534- 
country,  and  well  pleased  with  the  Indians  that  h.)  met,  "-""v""^ 
and  with  whom  he  exchanged  some  goods  for  far&.    This 
bay  is  the  same  that  is  laid  down  on  some  maps  as  Baye 
des  Espagnols ;  and  there  is  an  old  tradition,  that  Span- 
iards entered  it  before  Cartier,  and  that,  seeing  no  signs  of 
any  mines  there,  they  had  several  times  repeated  the 
words,  Aca  nada — nothing  there.    This  the  Indians  subse- 
quently repeated  to  the  French,  inducing  them  to  suppose  ♦ 
Canada  to  be  the  name  of  the  country.'    We  have  already 
seen  that  Yincent  le  Blanc  mentions  a  Spanish  voyage  to 
these  parts ;  the  rest  is  very  uncertain.    Be  that  as  it  may, 
Chaleurs  Bay  is  a  pretty  good  harbor,  and  from  the  mid- 
dle of  May  to  the  end  of  July  a  prodigiotis  quanti+y  of 
seals  are  taken  there. 

On  leaving  this  bay,  Cartier  visited  a  good  part  of  the  He  return* 
coasts  around  the  gulf,  and  took  possession  of  the  country'  "  "°* 
in  the  name  of  the  mort  Christian  king,  as  Yerazani  had 
done  in  all  the  places  where  he  landed.*  He  set  sail 
again  on  the  15th  of  August  to  return  to  France,  and 
reached  St.  Malo  safely  on  the  5th  of  September,  full  of 
hope  that  the  tribes  with  whom  he  had  treated  would 
easily  be  civilized  and  gained  to  Christ,  and  an  advan- 
tageous trade  by  this  means  estabhshed  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  different  nations. 

On  the  report  which  he  made  of  his  voyage,  the  court     iSSS- 
concluded  that  it  would  be  useful  to  France  to  have  a  set- 
tlement in  that  part  of  America;  but  no  one  took  this 


voyage. 


'  Ramnsio,  iii.  438  verso;  Hakluyt, 
iii.  208. 

'  Some  derive  the  name  from  the 
Iroquois  Kannata,  and  meaning  a  col- 
lection of  cabins. — Ofuirleooix.  Ve- 
lasco  is  the  Spaniard  here  alluded  to. 
The  Spanish  derivation  is  fictitious. 

•  Le  Blanc,  World  Surveyed,  p.  348. 

*  Cartier  took  poeseesion  at  Gaspe 
Bay  (Discovrs  du  Voyage,  p.  56). 

'  Ramnsio,  iii.  440  ;   Discovrs  du 
Vol.  I.— 8 


Voyage,  p.  67  ;  Thevet,  Singularitez 
de  la  France  Antarctique,  p.  148-9. 
Ramusio's  account  and  the  Discovrs 
give  a  vocabulary,  which  is  evidently 
Iroquois,  and  not  Algonquin.  The 
Discovrs  (p.  63)  shows  that  he  met 
two  different  races  and  languages^ 
one  evidently  Iroquois,  and  probably 
the  Toudaman  of  the  Algonquins. 
There  is  no  aUus*'  m  to  Vera7.zani 
in  these  authors. 


i 


lU 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FUANCB. 


1535.  aflfair  more  to  heart  than  the  Vice-admiral  Charles  do 
"■v— '  Mouy,  Sieur  de  la  Mailleraye.  This  noble  obtained  a  new 
commission  for  Cartier,  more  ample  than  the  first,  and 
gave  him  three  ships  well  equipped.'  This  fleet  was 
ready  about  the  middle  of  May,  and  Cartier,  who  was  a 
man  of  much  religious  feeling,  directed  all  his  men  to  meet 
on  the  16th  (Whitsunday),  in  the  Cathedral  Church,  to 
offer  up  their  devotions.  All  were  present,  and  on  leaving 
the  altar,  the  captain,  followed  by  his  party,  entered  the 
choir,  where  the  bishop  awaited  them  attired  in  his  pontifi- 
cal vestments,  and  gave  them  his  benediction." 

They  embarked  on  Wednesday  the  19th,  Cartier  on  a 
vessel  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons,  called  the  Great 
Hermine,  having  wit'»  him  several  young  gentlemen,  who 
followed  him  as  volunteers.'  They  set  sail  in  beautiful 
weather,  but  the  next  day  the  wind  became  adverse,  the 
sky  overcast,  and  for  more  than  a  month  all  the  resources 
of  the  pilots  were  tasked  to  the  utmost.  The  three  ves- 
sels, which  lost  sight  of  each  other,*  each  encountered 
violent  storms,  and  unable  to  hold  on,  were  at  last  forced 
to  leave  themselves  to  the  pleasure  of  the  windi::  and  the 
sea. 

The  Great  Hermine  was  carried  to  the  north  of  New- 
foundland, and  on  the  19th  of  July'  sailed  for  the  gulf,' 
the  rendezvous  appointed  in  case  of   separation.     He 


>  Ramusio,  iii.  440.  Leecarbot, 
NouveUe  Prance,  1618,  p.  263. 

■  Ferland,  1.  20.  See  commbaion 
of  Chabot  to  Cartier,  Oct.  30,  1534, 
in  Rame,  Documente  Inedits,  p.  7. 

'  rief  Recit  &  suocincte  narra- 
tion, de  la  navigation  faicie  es  jslea 
de  Canada,  &c.,  Paris,  1545,  p.  6 ;  Hak- 
luyt,  iii.  212  ;  Ramusio,  iii.  440 ; 
Lescarbot  (ed.  1618),  p.  270.  The 
Biahop  alluded  to  in  the  text,  was,  it 
would  seem,  Denis  Briconnet.  Qal- 
lia  C.jristiana,  ii.  681 ;  Faillon's  His- 
toire  de  la  Colonie  Frani;aiso  en 
Canada,  p.  12. 


•  An  ancient  register  of  St.  Malo 
preserves  the  names  of  the  whole 
party,  apparently  in  Cartier'a  hand. 
Mr.  O.  B.  Faribault,  to  whom  Canar 
dian  history  owes  so  &uch,  has  had 
h  engraved  in  fac-simile.  Rame 
gives  it,  p.  10. 

•  June  85 ;  Brief  Recit,  6  vereo. 

•  Cartier  gives  no  such  data.  He 
made  land  first  at  De  aux  Oiseaux, 
Funk  Island,  July  7, — Brief  Jiedt, 
p.  6  verso, — and  sailed  the  next  day 
for  the  rendezvous,  La  Baye  des  Cha- 
teaux, Straitsof  Bell'sle ;  Brief  Recit, 
7  ;  Ferland,  Cours  d'Histoire,  i.,  18. 


i  . 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


115 


M 


arrived  there  on  the  25th,'  and  the  next  day  the  other 
two  vessels  joined  him.  On  the  Ist  of  August  bad 
weather  drove  him  to  take  refuge  in  the  port  St.  Nicholas, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river  on  the  north.  Here  Cartier 
planted  a  cross,  with  the  arms  of  France,  and  remained  till 
the  7th.*  This  port  is  almost  the  only  spot  in  Canada 
that  has  kept  the  name  given  by  Cartier :  most  of  the 
others  were  afterwards  changed — thus  throwing  much  ob- 
scurity over  this  navigator's  memoirs.  Port  St.  Nicholas 
is  at  49°  25'  north  latitude.  It  is  quite  safe,  and  you  can 
anchor  in  four  fathoms  of  water ;  but  the  entrance  is  diffi- 
cult, because  it  is  surrounded  with  reefs.' 

On  the  10th  the  three  vessels  re-entered  the  gulf,*  and 
in  honor  of  the  saint  whose  feast  is  celebrated  on  that  day, 
Cartier  gave  the  gulf  the  name  of  St.  Lawrence ;  or  rather 
he  gave  it  to  a  bay  lying  between  Anticosti  Island  and  the 
north  shore,  whence  it  extended  to  the  whole  gulf  of  which 
this  bay  is  part ;  and  because  the  river,  before  that  called 
Biver  of  Canada,  empties  into  the  same  gulf,  it  insensibly 
acquired  the  name  of  St.  Lawrence,  which  it  still  bears. 

On  the  15th,  Cartier  approached  the  island  of  Anticosti 
to  examine  it  better,  and  in  honor  of  the  festival  of  the 
day,  he  called  it  Assumption  Island.'  But  the  name  of 
Anticosti  has  prevailed  in  ordinary  usage.  The  three  ves- 
sels then  ascended  the  river,  and  on  the  1st  of  September 
they  entered  the  river  Saguenay.'    Cartier  merely  recon- 


1S3S- 


DeBoription 

of  Port  St. 

Nicholas. 


Origin  of 
the  name 
St.  Law- 
rence, borne 
by  the  gulf 
and  river  of 
Canada. 


Anticoati 
Island  and 
Saguenay. 


>  The  Brief  Recit  says  the  15th,  and 
Mr.  d'Avezac  shows  that  the  manu- 
scripts agree  with  the  printed  text. 
The  other  vessels  arrived  on  the  20th. 

»  Brief  Recit,  p.  7. 

«  Ferland  (Conrs  d'Histoire,  p.  22) 
says  :  "  According  to  the  distances 
given  by  Cartier,  the  haven  of  St. 
Nicholas  must  be  Pachachibou,  a 
little  harborwherecoastingschooners 
find  shelter." 

*  He  apparently  entered  the  Bay 
of  St.  Lawrence  on  the  8th.     See 


Brief  Recit,  7, 8.  This  bay,  according 
to  Mr.  Ferland  (Cours  d'Histoire,  p. 
22,  n.),  is  the  present  Port  de  Ste. 
Genevieve. 

»  Brief  Recit,  p.  59.  The  Indians 
call  od  it  Natiscotec.  The  name  Anti ' 
costi  seems  to  have  been  given  to  it  by 
the  £]nglish.  Jean  Alphonse  errs  in 
calling  it  Ascension  Island. — CtuirU- 
taix.  The  Montag^nais  now  call  it 
Nataahkouth — place  where  they  eeek 
the  bear.    Ferland,  i.  22,  n. 

*  The  Brief  Recit  does  not  mention 


*i*'*- 


116 


'535- 


We  Or- 
leans. 


Sainto 

Croix,  or 

Jkoqaes 

Cartier 

River. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

noitred  the  mouth  of  tais  river,  and  after  running  along 
the  shore  for  fifteen  leagues,  anchored  near  an  isle,  which 
he  called  Isle  aux  Coudres,  because  he  found  a  number  of 
hazels  there.'  This  shows  the  error  of  those  who  have 
imagined  that  this  island  was  formed  by  the  great  earth- 
quake, of  which  I  shall  treat  in  its  proper  place,  and  which 
indeed  augmented  it  considerably. 

Cartier  seeing  himself  thus  far  advanced  in  an  unknown 
coa'otry,  hastened  to  seek  a  port  where  his  vessels  might 
wirier  in  safety.  Eight  leagues  above  Isle  aux  Coudres 
he  found  another  much  larger  and  handsomer  island,  all 
covered  with  trees  and  vines.  He  called  it  Bacchus  Island,' 
but  the  name  has  been  changed  to  Isle  d'Orleans.  The 
author  of  the  relation  of  this  voyage,  printed  under  the 
name  of  Cartier,  pretends  that  only  here  the  country  be- 
gins to  be  called  Canada.  But  he  is  surely  mistaken ;  for  it 
is  certain  that  from  the  earliest  times  the  Indians  gave 
this  name  to  the  whole  country  along  the  river  on  both 
sides,  from  its  mouth  to  the  Saguenay.' 

From  Bacchus  Island,  Cartier  proceeded  to  a  little  river 
which  is  ten  leagues  off,  and  comes  from  the  north ;  he 
called  it  Riviere  de  Ste.  Croix,  because  he  entered  it  on  the 
14th  of  September  (Feast  of  the  Exaltation  of  the  Holy 
Cross) ;'  but  it  is  now  commonly  called  Riviere  de 
Jacques  Cartier.'    The  day  after  his  arrival,  he  received 


his  entering  the  Saguenay,  bnt  the 
three  manuBcripts  all  state  the  fact. 
See  D'Avezac'?  edition,  p.  54. 

'  Brief  Recit,  p.  13  veioS. 

'  The  Brief  Recit  does  not  give  acy 
name  to  the  island  at  this  time  (see 
p.  lij  verso),  bnt  later  mentions  his 
giving  the  name  (p.  14  verso).  In 
the  manuscript,  some  pages  after 
(see  D'Avezac,  p.  63  verso),  the  name 
Islo  d'Orleans,  still  in  use,  is  given. 

'  For  a  defence  of  Cartier's  posi- 
tion, see  Ferland,  Cours  d'Histoire,  p. 
24.   As  to  the  authorship  of  the  Brief 


Recit,  see  Faillon,  Histoire  de  la  Co 
lonie  I      \(;aiBe,  i.  p.  523. 

'  Brui  Recit,  p.  14. 

'  Charlevoix  was  evidently  misled 
Mr.  Ferland  shows  how  completely 
Cartier's  description  answers  to  the 
St.  Charles  at  Quebec.  (Cours  d'His- 
toirfj,  p.  26.)  Champlain  (Voyages, 
1613,  p.  185)  declares  the  St.  Charies 
to  be  the  Ste.  Croix,  and  not  a  river 
then  called  Ste.  Croix,  further  west. 
He  found  a  chimney,  ditches,  squared 
timber,  cannon-balls,  &c.  Lescarbot 
(p.  616-7  and  p.  8S6)  states  the  same. 


W 


niSTORT  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


117 


W 


\ 


a  visit  from  an  Indian  chief  named  Donnacoua,'  whom  the 
author  of  the  relation  of  that  voyage  styles  Lord  of  Can- 
ada. Cartier  treated  with  this  chief  by  means  of  two  In- 
dians whom  he  had  taken  to  France  the  year  before,  and 
who  knew  a  little  French.  They  informed  Donnacona 
that  the  stranpors  wished  to  go  to  Hochelaga,  which 
seemed  to  trouble  him. 

Hochelaga  was  a  pretty  large  town,  situated  on  an 
island  now  kno'HTi  under  the  name  of  Island  of  Montreal. 
Cartier  had  heard  much  of  it,  and  was  loth  to  return  to 
France  without  seeing  '*.  The  reason  why  this  voyage 
troubled  Donnacona  was,  that  the  people  of  Hochelaga 
were  of  a  different  nation  from  his,  and  that  he  wished  to 
profit  exclusively  by  the  advantages  which  he  hoped  to 
derive  from  the  stay  of  the  French  in  his  country.  He 
accordingly  represented  to  Cartier  that  the  rest  of  the 
route  to  that  town  was  longer  than  he  supposed,  and  that 
he  would  encounter  great  difficulties ;  but  Cartier,  who 
doubtless  detected  the  motive  of  his  language,  did  not 
forego  his  resolution.  He  left  Sainte  Croix  on  the  19th,  in 
the  Great  Hermine  only  and  two  longboats,  leaving  the 
other  two  vessels  in  the  river  Sainte  Croix,  which  the 
Great  Hermine  was  unable  to  enter." 


'535- 


Island  of 
Montreal. 
Hochelaga, 


and  deecribes  the  ruinB.  Sagard  and 
Champlain  state  that  tha  first  chapel 
of  the  JesuitSiNotre  Dome  dee  Anges, 
was  built  at  what  was  still  called 
" Jacques Cartier's Fort."  Thischapel 
was  at  the  junction  of  the  St.  Charles 
and  Lairet. 

'  His  arrival  olf  Isle  d'Orleans  was 
on  the  7th,  and  the  next  day  Donna- 
cona visited  him.  The  Indians  taken 
off  by  Cartier  were  Taignoagny  and 
Domagaya.  Donnacona's  town  waa 
called  Stadacon^,  and,  according  to 
the  accurate  Mr.  Ferland,  lay  be- 
tween Fabrique-street  and  the  Co- 
teau  de  Sainte  \-enevieve,  in  the 
present  city  of  Quebec. 

» Champlain   pretends   that   this 


riTec  is  the  St.  Charles,  bat  wrongly, 
as  vessels  much  larger  than  the 
Great  Hermine  enter  the  latter  read- 
ily at  high  tide.  Champlain  oomited 
the  ten  leagues  firom  the  lower  end 
of  the  island. — Charlevoix.  Cham- 
plain (see  his  discussion,  Voyagee, 
ed.  1613,  p.  185)  was,  however,  right. 
The  Ste.  Croix  had  been  pointed  out 
to  him  as  the  place  where  Cartier 
wintered,  and,  finding  it  not  to  cor- 
respond, he  studied  the  whole  ques- 
tion. Compare  Ferland,  Cours  d'His- 
toire,  i.  26;  Faillon,  Histoire  de  la 
Colonic  Fran<;'ai8e,  i.  497  ;  Qameau, 
Hist,  du  Canada  (3d.  ed.),  i.  20.  Car- 
tier  sailed  up  the  river  in  the  Eme- 
rillon  :  Ferland,  i.  29. 


J 


11 


118 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


:i4: 


'535- 


Cartier's  re- 
ooption 
there. 


On  the  29th  he  was  stopped  at  Lake  St.  Pierre,  which 
his  ship  could  not  pass,  apparently  from  having  failed  to 
follow  the  channel.  The  plan  which  he  adopted  was  to 
man  his  two  boats  and  embark  in  them.'  He  at  last 
reached  Hochelaga'  on  the  2d  of  October,  accompanied  by 
Messrs.  de  Pontbriand,  de  la  Pommeraye,  and  de  Goyelle," 
three  of  his  volunteers.  The  shape  of  the  town  was 
round,  and  three  rows  of  palisades  inclosed  in  it  about* 
fifty  tunnel-shaped  cabins,  each  over  fifty  paces  long,  and 
fourteen  or  fifteen  wide.*  It  was  entered  by  a  single 
gate,  above  which,  as  weU  as  along  the  first  palisade,  ran 
a  kind  of  gallery,  reached  by  ladders,  and  well  provided 
with  pieces  of  rock  and  pebbles  for  the  defence  of  the 
place. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  town  spoke  the  Huron  lan- 
guage.*    They  received  the  French   very  well,   feasted 


'  Brief  Redt,  p.  22. 

•  lb.,  p.  22. 

•  The  Brief  Recit  says,  Jehan  Oo- 
▼ion,  p.  22. 

•  Cartier  aays :  "  Close  de  boys  a 
troia  reuoqg,  en  fa<^n  d'ane  piramlde 
crois^e  par  le  haut,  ayant  la  rsngee 
du  parmi  en  fa(;on  de  ligne  perpen- 
diculaire."  Brief  Recit,  p.  23.  This 
can  scarcely  be  interpreted  a  triple 
palisade.  The  centre  poet  was  per- 
pendicular, having  an  oblique  one  on 
each  side,  joining  it  at  the  top:  these 
pyramids  or  triangles  were  united  at 
the  top,  and  the  sides  covered  with 
logs  well  fastened  together.  See 
Plan  "  La  Terra  de  Hochelaga  nella 
Nova  Francia"  in  Ramusio  ;  Faillon, 
Histoire  de  la  Colonie  Fran(^se,  i. 
601 ;  Ferland,  Cours  d'Histoire,  i.  29. 
The  picture  of  an  Iroquois  fort  in 
Champlain  (ed.  1613,  p.  255)  may 
explain  Cartier. 

'  Brief  Recit,  p.  24. 

•  This  seems  the  more  probable 
opinion.  Cartier's  vocabulary,  if  got 
here,  would  settle  it ;  but  where  did 


he  get  his  words  ?  He  had  no  inter- 
preter, and.  If  got  here  by  signs,  is 
not  so  stated.  His  two  Interpreters, 
Taignoagny  and  Domagaya  (who 
were  of  Stadacone,  Brief  Recit,  p.  82 
verso),  must  have  given  him  many 
words  ;  these  are  generally  supposed 
to  be  Algonquins,  but,  as  his  vocabu- 
lary has  no  Algonquin  words,  we 
must  conclude  Stadacone  to  have 
been  also  Huron-Iroquois.  The  form 
of  Hochelaga  is  clearly  Huron-Iro- 
quois ;  and  of  the  few  words  Cartier 
gives  positively  as  Hochelaga,  most 
are  clearly  Huron-Iroquois.  See 
Faillon,  Histoire  de  la  Colonie  Cana- 
dienne,  i.  524  ;  Historical  Magazine, 
ix.  144.  The  name  Hochelaga  pre- 
sents difficulties.  Champlain  ascribes 
it  to  the  Sault  St.  Louis  (Voyages,  p. 
10).  The  mouv'n  Iroquois  name  of 
Montreal,  as  given  in  the  books  print- 
ed there  by  Mr.  Marcoux  and  others, 
isTiohtiaki,  which  Mr.  Faillon  (ii  10) 
thinks  the  same  as  Tutonaguy,  men- 
tioned in  Cartier's  third  voyage  as 
between  Hocheluga  and  Sault   St. 


\. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


119 


\> 


them  after  their  faBhion,  and  exchanged  presents.  The 
astonishment  of  these  Indians  at  the  sight  of  the  Euro- 
peans was  excessive.  Their  firearms,  trumpets,  and  other 
warlike  instruments,  their  long  beards,  their  dress,  were 
long  a  matter  of  wonder  and  conversation  among  these 
savages,  who  constantly  questioned  their  guests ;  but  as 
on  neither  side  they  could  speak  except  by  signs,  the 
French  gave  and  received  very  little  light  on  these  mutual 
inquiries. 

One  day  Cartier  was  much  surprised  to  see  the  chief  of 
the  town  come  to  him,  showing  him  his  legs  aad  arms, 
giving  him  to  understand  that  he  suffered  from  some  mal- 
ady in  them,  and  that  he  should  kindly  heal  him.  His 
conduct  was  at  once  imitated  by  all  those  who  were  pres- 
ent, and  soon  after  by  a  still  larger  number,  who  flocked 
from  all  sides,  some  among  whom  were  apparently  very  ill, 
and  some  extremely  aged.  The  simplicity  of  these  people 
touched  the  captain,  who,  arming  himself  with  a  lively 
futh,  recited  with  aU  possible  devotion  the  commencement 
of  St.  John's  gospel.  He  then  made  the  sign  of  the  cross 
on  the  sick,  gave  them  rosaries  and  Agnus  Deis,  giving  them 
to  understand  that  these  things  had  great  power  to  heal  all 
kinds  of  infirmities.'  This  done,  he  began  to  pray,  and 
earnestly  besought  the  Lord  not  to  leave  these  poor  idola- 
ters longer  in  the  shades  of  infidelity.  Then  he  recited 
aloud  the  whole  Passion  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  was  heard 
with  great  attention  and  respect  by  all  present,  and  the 
pious  ceremony  was  closed  by  a  blast  of  trumpets,  which 


'535- 


Louie,  llie  Haron  name,  as  given  by 
Potier  (EUementa  Qramm.  Huron.), 
was  Te  okia,  i,  equivalent  to  Te  oki- 
agui ;  the  latter  part  being  parbapa 
the  name  incorrectly  written  Hoche- 
laga,  which  contains  a  labial  clearly 
intrusive.  The  termination  may  be 
ga,  people.  The  Senecas  call  the 
French  of  Montreal  Dohkia-g(-ga.  A 
compariBon  of  Cartier'B  Vocabulary 
with  that  of  the  Cherokees  (Tsal- 


lake)  ehowB  Bome  striking  resem- 
blance. 

'  Cartier  attributed  no  such  power 
to  his  gifts,  which  were  not  given  to 
the  sick,  but  to  all,  men,  women,  and 
children, — knives  to  the  men,  beads 
to  the  women,  and  rings  and  little  tin 
lambs  for  the  children.  Brief  Recit,  p. 
86.  "  Pate  Notre"  meant  a  string  of 
beads,  and  "  Agnus  Dei  d'etain"  are 
not  Agnus  Deis,  for  these  are  of  wax. 


m 


1   V 


ii 


m' 


m 


120 


>535- 


pnt 

joy-' 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


these  Indians  beside  themselves  with  wonder  and 


Ho  visitii       The  same  day  Cartier  visited  the  monutain  at  the  foot 
ain.and    of  which  the  towu  lay,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Mont 
name  of    Koyal,  which  has  become  that  of  the  whole  island.'    From 
oya .  .J.  j^^  discovered  a  great  extent  of  country,  the  sight  of 
which  charmed  him ;  and  justly,  for  there  are  few  in  the 
world  more  beautiful  or  better.    He  felt  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  a  spot  better  adapted  for  a  permanent  set- 
tlement ;  and  with  his  mind  full  of  this  grand  idea,'  he  left 
Hochelaga  on  the  5th  of  October,  and  on  the  11th  arrived 
at  Sainte  Croix. 

His  people  had  made  a  kind  of  intrenchment  around 
their  barracks,  sufficient  at  least  to  protect  them  against 
surprise,  a  precaution  often  necessary  with  Indians,*  and 
which  no  one  need  ever  repent  of,  even  when  there  is  no 
occasion  to  feel  the  necessity.  In  the  present  case  it 
would  have  been  imprudent  not  to  take  this  step,  as  they 
proposed  to  winter  near  a  populous  town,  commanded  by 
a  chief  whom  they  had  more  than  one  reason  to  distrust. 
I  find  in  some  memoirs,  and  it  is  a  constant  tradition  in 
Canada,  that  one  of  the  three  vessels  was  wi'ecked  on  a 
rock  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  opposite  the  River  Ste.  Croix, 
entirely  covered  at  high-water,  and  now  styled  Eoche  de 
Jacques  Cartier ;  but  the  narrative  which  I  have  followed 
in  this  account  makes  no  mention  of  such  an  accident.' 
1536.  His  greater  misfortune  soon  made  this  forgotten;  and 
^"ries offu"^  *^®  more  readily,  as  it  would  have  been  necessary  to 
''"rench'"  ^^^'^'^o^  ^^^  vessel  for  want  of  sailors  to  take  it  back  to 
France.  This  was  a  kind  of  scurvy,  which  none  escaped, 
and  which  would  perhaps  have  swept  off  the  very  last  of 


1  Brief  Recit,  p.  27  verso. 

'  Now  called  Montreal. — CharUv. 

•  Not  mentioned  in  Brief  Reclt. 

•  Brief  Reclt,  p.  28  and  verso. 

»  This  story  w  first  given  by  De  la 
Potherie,  Histoire  de  TAmerique  Sep- 
tcntrionale,  i.  282,  without  any  date. 


If  it  happened  at  all,  it  must  have 
been  in  the  third  voyage.  Mr.  Fal- 
Hon,  HUtoire  de  la  Colonio  Fraui,'aiae, 
i,,  thinks  that  it  arose  from  the  loss 
of  one  of  Roberval's  boats ;  but  it  may 
have  come  from  the  fact  of  a  ship  be- 
ing left  by  Cartier.    Brief  Recit,  p.  41. 


w 


?**^yBHtWW** 


Y   W 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FUANCE. 


121 


{s 


the  French,  hail  thoy  uot,  a  little  too  late,  discovorofl  a  1536. 
reiuody  which  acted  at  once.  This  was  a  decoction  of  the  '^""y"^ 
leaf  aud  bark  of  the  white  piue  poimdod  together.  Car- 
tier  was  himself  attacked  with  the  disease,  when  the  In- 
dians taught  him  this  secret.  He  had  already  lost  twenty- 
five  men,  and  scarcely  two  or  three  were  left  him  able  to 
act.  A  week,  however,  after  beginning  to  use  this  remedy 
all  were  up.  Some  even,  it  is  said,  who  had  had  the  vene- 
real disease,  and  had  uot  been  perfectly  cured,  in  a  short 
time  recovered  perfect  health.'  This  same  tree  produces 
the  turpentine,  or  white  Canada  balsam. 

In  the  memoir  or  his  second  voyage,  presented  by  Car-  Notion  of 
tier  to  Francis  I.,  he  does  not  attribute  to  intercourse  with  gWen  totUo 
the  Indians,  which  his  men  had  at  first  kept  up,  the  mal-    cunie' 
ady  which  had  been  on  the  point  of  sweeping  off  all  his 
party ;  but  to  the  indolence  of  his  people  and  the  condition 
to  which  they  were  exposed."    In  fact,  the  Canada  Indians 
have  never  been  subject  to  scurvy.    So  this  captain,  in 
spite  of  his  losses,  and  the  rigorous  cold  from  which  he 
suffered  all  the  more,  as  he  had  not  taken  precautious  to 
guard  against  a  difficulty  which  he  had  not  foreseen,  did 
not  hesitate  to  assure  his  majesty  that  great  advantages 
could  be  derived  from  the  country  which  he  had  just 
visited. 

He  stated  that  most  of  the  land  is  quite  fertile,  the 
climate  very  healthy,  the  people  sociable  aud  easily  kept 
in  respect.  He  spoke  to  him  especially  of  the  furs  as  an 
important  object.  But  he  insisted  chiefly  on  the  point 
that  it  was  most  worthy  of  a  great  prince  like  him,  who 
bore  thfc  title  of  Most  Christian  Eling  and  Eldest  Son  of 
the  Church,  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  Christ  to  so  many 


•  Brief  Recit,  pp.  84  verso  to  38 
verso.  The  Indian  name  of  tlie  tree 
was  Ameda  or  Annedda.  Cartier 
gives  no  Frencli  name,  but  it  Is  gen- 
erally admitted  to  be  the  white  pine. 
See  Champlain,  1618,  p.  65.  French 
Onondaga  Dictionary,  p.  21.    That 


Cartier  was  not  attacked,  we  may 
infer  from  the  Brief  Recit,  p.  36. 

*  The  disease  broke  out  among  the 
Indians  first  (Brief  Recit,  p.  34  verso^ 
ar(.  fifty  died  before  a  Frenchman 
wttu  attacked.  The  narrative  saya 
nothing  of  the  indolence  of  the  men. 


1  li 


IIISTOUY  OF  NEW   FllANfE. 


•If 


1536. 


Hill  return 
to  Francs, 


JiidKment 

OD  the  me- 

nioira. 


iufidul  nutioDB,  who  did  not  Beem  difficult  to  convert  to 
Cbristianitj.' 

Somo  autbora,  however,  pretend  that  Cartier,  dingiiHted 
with  Canada,  disHuaded  the  king,  his  master,  from  further 
thoughts  of  it ;  and  Champlain  seoms  to  have  been  of  that 
opinion.  But  this  does  not  agree  with  what  Cartier  himself 
says  in  his  memoirs,  nor  with  what  we  read  in  other  rela- 
tions of  bis  voyages.  It  is  added  that  on  starting  from 
Ste.  Croix  to  return  to  France,  which  be  did  as  soon  as  the 
navigation  of  the  river  was  open,  be  by  stratagem  took 
Donnacona  with  him  ;*  that  he  presented  the  chief  to  the 
king,  and  made  him  repeat  to  the  prince  all  that  he  had 
himself  said  of  the  advantages  of  the  country  :  but  this  is 
not  certain. 

If  Cartier's  memoirs'  long  served  as  a  guide  to  those 
who  after  him  navigated  the  gulf  and  river  St.  Lawrence, 
it  is  certain  that  in  our  days  they  are  almost  unintelligible, 
because,  besides  the  subsequent  changing  of  most  of  the 
names  which  he  gave  to  the  islands,  rivers,  capes,  etc.,  the 
terms  which  he  cites  are  not  to  be  found  in  any  Canadian 
language,  whether  he  distorted  them  from  not  catching 
the  true  sound,  or  because  they  have  become  obsolete,  as 
happens  with  all  living  languages ;  yet  mush  less  among 
the  Indians  than  among  uh,  as  I  have  been  assured  on  the 
spot.  Indeed,  most  words  given  by  travellers  as  proper 
names,  when  they  are  not  absolutely  invented,  have  gen- 
erally no  foundation  but  words  badly  understood,  or  taken 
in  a  sense  quite  different  from  that  belonging  to  them. 


IV 


■  Brief  Recit,  p.  6.  There  is  no 
allagioD  to  fur.  See  Theret,  Singii- 
laritez  de  la  France  Antarctique, 
1688,  4o,  p.  148-9. 

*  Cartier  relates  the  eeizing  of  Don- 
nacona (p.  41  verBO  et  eeq.),  after  hav- 
ing previously  stated  the  evidently 
hostile  prepuiittions  making  against 
the  French,  and  the  attempt  of  Don- 
nacona to  get  Cartier  in  his  hands. 


Donnacona  lived  four  or  five  years 
in  France.  Thevet,  Cosmographie, 
145-6.  Cartier  left  Ste.  Croix,  May 
C,  and  reached  St.  Malo,  July  6, 1686. 
Brief  Recit,  44  verso  and  46  verso. 

'  Charlevoix  had  apparently  not 
seen  Hakluyt  or  the  Brief  Recit  of 
1546,  but  followed  Lescubot,  who 
abridges  and  alters  Cartier.  See  his 
edition  of  1618,  pp.  226-877. 


t 


r 


niSTORT  or  NKW  FRANCE. 


1536. 


natfltoloil 
l>jr  Fr»rio«. 


Moanwhilo,  Cnrtior  in  vain  extolled  the  country  which 
be  bad  diHcovered.  IliM  Hmall  retums,  and  the  wretched 
condition  to  which  bin  uion  bad  been  reduced  by  cold  and 
scurvy,  persuaded  moHt  that  i^  r.^^uld  never  be  of  any  use 
to  France.  Great  atreBS  waH  laid  on  the  fact  that  he  no- 
where Haw  any  appearance  of  mines  ;  and  then,  even  more 
than  now,  a  strange  land  which  produced  neither  gold  nor 
silver  was  reckoned  as  nothing.  Perhaps,  too,  Cartier  dis- 
ci edited  bis  relation  by  the  tales  with  which  he  thought 
fit  to  embellish  it ;'  but  how  return  from  an  unknown  land 
and  relate  no  wonders  of  it  I  It  is  not  worth  while,  they 
say,  to  go  so  far  to  see  only  what  you  may  see  every- 
where. 

Truly  the  condition  of  a  voyager  is  very  sad,  when  be 
does  not  return  able  to  compensate  by  some  solid  advan- 
tage for  the  hardships  and  dangers  which  he  has  encoun- 
tered. If  be  thinks  fit  to  give  a  relation  of  bis  voyage,  be 
finds  all  his  readers  on  theii  guard ;  if  be  says  any  thing 
in  the  least  extraordinary,  he  finds  no  credence.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  a  rela<  ^n  is  utterly  devoid  of  the  marvel- 
lous, it  bes  unread  ;  that  is  to  say,  we  require  a  traveller 
to  amuse  us  even  at  the  expense  of  bis  reputation ;  we 
must  read  him  with  pleasure,  and  preserve  the  right  to 
tarn  him  into  ridicule. 

I  do  not  know  whether  Jacques  Cartier  made  all  these  Remtrkt  on 
reflections  when  be  wrote  bis  memoirs,  but  be  introduces  of  clrtfer't 
the  marvellous  of  more  than  one  type.  Tet  all  is  not  so 
fabulous,  that  you  do  not  catch  some  gUmpses  of  the 
reabty  which  his  ignorance  or  want  of  attention  have  dis- 
figured ;  and  what  he  has  related  on  the  testimony  of 
others  is  not  always  unfounded.  This  leads  me  to  think 
that  I  shall  be  pardoned,  if  I  stop  to  examine  some  points 
of  history,  which  are  not  altogether  unworthy  of  the 
curious. 


memoirs. 


>  This  is  unjust  to  Cartier ;  but    own  narrative,  which  is  not  liable  to 
Charlevoix  had  never  seen  Cartier's    the  censures  given. 


<   I 


t;    I 


il  it'; 


124 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE, 


1536.  Our  author  then  assures  us  that  one  day  hunting  he 
pursued  a  two-footed  deer,  which  ran  with  extraordinary 
spe^d.'  He  doubtless  saw  through  the  bushes  an  Indian 
in  a  deerskin,  with  the  fur  outside,  and  perhaps  heard  him 
imitate  an  animul's  cry,  to  draw  it  into  a  trap,  after  the  In- 
dian fashion.  The  Indian,  on  his  side,  who  perhaps  had 
never  seen  a  European,  seeing  an  extraordinary  man,  took 
flight.  Cartier,  ignorant  that  these  Indians  do  not  yield 
to  deer  and  stags  in  fleetness  of  foot,  much  astonished  to 
Kti.  his  assumed  deer  nin  as  fast  on  two  legs  as  on  four, 
concluded  that  it  was  an  animal  of  a  peculiar  species. 
And  from  a  similar  source,  perhaps,  come  all  that  is 
written  of  fawns  and  satyrs.  But  hore  is  something  still 
more  admir^bie. 

Donnacoiua,  if  we  credit  the  relation  of  the  St.  Malo 
captain,  related  t^^.  him  that  in  a  voyage  which  he  made  to 
a  country  far  remote  from  his  own,'  he  saw  men  who  did 
not  eat,  and  had  no  issue  in  the  body  for  excrements,  but 
who  drank  and  passed  liquids.  That  in  another  region 
were  men  who  had  but  one  leg  and  thigh,  with  a  very  large 
foot,  two  hands  on  the  same  arm,  the  waist  extremely 
square,  the  breast  and  head  fiat,  and  a  very  small  mouth. 
That  still  further  on  he  had  seen  pigmies,  and  a  sea  the 
water  of  ^hich  was  fresh.'  In  fine,  that,  ascending  the 
Saguenay,  you  reach  a  country  where  there  are  men 
dressed  like  us,  who  live  in  cities,  and  have  much  gold, 
rubies,  land  copper.* 

'  It  is  certain  that  our  missionaries  have  ascended  the 
Saguenay  as  far  as  possible,  with  the  Indians,  and  most  of 
its  branches ;  that  they  have  seen  only  frightful  districts, 
impracticftble  for  any  but  wandeiiiig  savages,  many  of 


■  Cartier  doM  not  say  bo.  Lescar- 
bot  makes  him  say  that  he  saw  foot- 
prints of  a  biped,  which  weru  more 
than  a  palm  long,  and  which  he  fol- 
lowed on  the  sand  for  some  distance. 
Lescarbot,  Hist.,  p.  803. 

'Saguenay.  Brief  Recit,.p .40 verso. 


» This  is  exaggerated.  The  Brief 
Reclt  says  :  "  Moreover  says  to  have 
been  in  another  country  of  Pioque- 
myans  and  other  countries,  where 
the  people  have  only  one  log." 

*  Not  ascending  the  Saguenay,  but 
at  Saguenay.  BriefRecit,p.40  verso. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE.  125 

whom  even  perish  of  famine  ^ad  hardship.  But  it  may  be  1 536. 
observed  that  an  Indian,  for  whom  seven  or  eight  hundred  '-*  ^~^' 
leagues'  march  is  no  great  affair,  might  easily,  by  taking 
the  Saguenay  route,  and  then  turning  west,  penetrate  to 
Lake  Assiniboiu,  which  is,  it  is  said,  six  hundred  leagues 
in  circuit,  and  thence  pass  to  New  Mexico,  where  the 
Spaniards  began  at  that  time  to  settle.' 

It  is,  moreover,  verv  strange  that  the  story  of  one-legged 
men  should  be  renewed  quite  recently  by  a  young  Esqui- 
maux girl,  captured  in  1717,  and  brought  to  Mr.  de  Courte- 
manche,  on  the  coast  of  Labrador,  where  she  was  still  in 
1720,  when  I  reached  Quebec.  This  girl,  one  day  seeing 
fishermen  on  the  seashore,  asked  whether  there  were  only 
men  made  like  that  among  us.  They  were  surprised  at 
her  question,  but  still  more  at  her  adding  that  she  had 
seen  in  her  country  two  men  of  monstrous  size  and  bulk 
who  discharged  their  excrements  from  the  mouth,  and 
made  water  imder  tt  -  '  julder.  She  also  said  that  among 
her  countrymen  there  was  another  kind  of  men,  who  had 
only  one  leg,  one  thigh,  and  a  very  large  foot,  two  hands 
on  the  same  arm,  a  broad  body,  flat  head,  small  eyes, 
scarcely  any  nose,  and  a  very  small  mouth ;  that  they  were 
always  in  a  bad  humor ;  that  they  could  remain  under  the 
water  three-quarters  of  an  hour  at  a  time,  and  that  the 
Esquimaux  used  them  to  fish  up  the  fragments  of  the 
ships  wrecked  on  the  coast. 

She  finally  averred  that  in  the  northern  extremity  of  Black  maa 
Labrador  was  a  people  entirely  black,  with  large  lips,  a     iorth. 
broad  nose,  straight  white  hair ;  that  this  nation  was  very 
wicked,  and  although  badly  armed,  having  only  stone 
knives  and  axes,  without  any  iron,  it  had  rendered  itself 
a  terror  to  the  Esquimaux;  and  that  they  use  snow- 


'  The  Saguenay  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence Indiana  was  evidently  the  Lake 
Superior  region,  and  possibly  the 
parts  acceseible  by  the  Mississippi. 
The  River  Saguenay  was  not  so  called 


from  being  in,  but  from  leading  to, 
Baguenay.  See  Brief  Recit,  p.  83 
verso.  The  direct  route  to  Saguenay 
veas  by  a  river  that  entered  the  St 
Lawrence  at  Montreal.    lb.,  p.  34. 


SSfe' 


"Wi- 


126 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


i;36.     shoes  to  run  on  the  snow,  which  are  not  in  use  among 
"^■'"' them. 

It  must  be  avowed  that  it  would  be  a  strange  thing  to 
find  black  men  so  near  the  Pole,  and  in  a  climate  where 
the  very  bears  are  white ;  yet  de  Courtemanche's  young 
slave  is  not  the  only  one  who  makes  the  assertion. 

The  author  of  the  Belation  of  Greenland,  given  in  the 
Voyages  au  Nord,  after  speaking  of  the  natives  of  the 
country,  which  he  represents  as  very  Uke  the  Esquimaux, 
large  and  lean  like  tbem,  dressed  in  the  same  style,  having 
canoes  Uke  theirs,  adds  that  there  are  also  among  them 
men  as  black  as  Ethiops.'  After  all,  there  is  nothing 
impossible  in  this,  as  negroes  might,  by  chance  or  other- 
wise, have  been  transported  to  Qreenland,  and  multiplied 
there,  the  white  hair  being  an  effect  of  cold,  which  acts 
similarly  on  most  of  the  animals  in  Canada. 
PKmtef.  The  slave  spoke  also  of  pigmies,  who  formed, .  e  l  id,  a 
nation  of  themselves,  were  only  three  feet  high,  and  ex- 
tremely stout.  Their  wives,  she  added,  are  still  smaller, 
and  there  is  not  in  ihe  world  i  more  wretched  people.  The 
Esquimaux,  whose  slaves  they  are,  treat  them  very  harshly, 
and  make  it  a  signal  favor  to  give  them  a  Uttle  fresh  water 
to  drink.  The  relation  which  I  have  cited  says  the  same, 
and  avers  that  in  many  parts  of  the  country  there  is  no 
fresh  water,  but  melted  snow ;'  11  which  there  is  nothing 
incredible,  as  the  cold  may  so  close  the  channels  in  the 
earth,  that  there  is  no  passage  for  springs,  except  at  a  cer- 
tain depth. 

This  conjecture  is  confirmed  by  what  voyagers  have 
experienced  at  the  North,  where  they  have  seen  on  the 
seashore  immense  icebergs  of  fresh  water.  According  to 
some  memoirs,  also,  the  Esquimaux  are  accustomed  to 
drink  sea-water,  and  that  there  is  often  no  other.  This 
water  is  not,  however,  of  the  sea,  but  of  brackish  ponds, 
such  as  are  sometimes  found  far  inland. 


'  Recueil  de  Voyages  au  Nord,  i.  p.  129. 


« lb.,  p.  181. 


feaitttaw*^' 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FHANCB. 


127 


We  also  learn  from  the  Voyages  au  Nord,  that  some 
Danish  vessels,  which  in  1605  ascended  very  far  up  in 
Hudson's  Bay,  found  there  little  men,  with  square  heafls, 
bronzed  complexion,  thick  pouting  Ups,  who  eat  meat  and 
fish  raw ;  who  could  never  be  accustomed  to  bread  or 
cooked  meats,  still  less  to  wine ;  who  swallowed  whale-oil 
as  we  do  water,  and  eat  its  flesh  as  a  delicacy ;  who  made 
shirts  of  the  intestines  of  fish,  and  overcoats  of  dog  or  seal 
skins.'  The  author  adds  that  he  took  several  of  these 
pigmies  to  Denmark,  and  that  they  all  died  of  home-sick- 
ness ;  but  that  five  were  still  alive,  when  on  the  arrival  of 
a  Spanish  ambaBsador,  they  gave  him  as  an  entertainment 
the  spectacle  of  these  little  men  sailing  in  boats  of  their 
fashion  on  the  sea.'  These  boats  were  of  the  shape  of  a 
weaver's  shuttle,  and  ten  or  twelve  feet  long.  They  were 
made  of  whalebones  an  inch  thick,  covered  above  and  be- 
low with  skins  of  seals  or  sea-dogs,  sewed  together  with 
sinews.  Two  other  skins  covered  the  upper  part  of  the 
boat,  in  such  a  way  that  there  was  only  a^  opening  in  the 
middle  by  which  the  boatman  got  in,  and  drew  it  up  like 
a  purse  around  his  waist.  Thus  seated,  and  secured  around 
the  body,  not  a  drop  of  water  entered  their  boat,  although 
the  waves  broke  over  their  heads,  and  sometimes  sur- 
rounded them  on  every  side.  The  force  of  these  boats 
consists  in  the  two  ends,  where  the  whalebones  are  well 
tied  together  by  the  extremities  ;  and  the  whole  is  so  well 
joined,  so  well  sewed,  that  these  slight  craft  can  stand  the 
most  violent  storms ;  and  that  in  the  very  midst  of  ship- 
wreck their  conductors  laugh  at  the  tempest. 

There  is  never  more  than  one  man  in  each  of  these 
boats ;  and  he  sits  there,  his  legs  stretched  out,  the  wrist 
of  his  sleeves  well  tied,  his  head  enveloped  in  a  kind  of 
hood  attached  to  his  coat,  so  that,  whatever  happens,  no 
water  penetrates.    They  hold  in  their  hand  a  double- 


's 36. 


II 


»  Recaeil  des  Voyages  au  Nord,  i.  Recueil  des  Voyages  au  Nord,  I. 

p.  132,  though  not  cited  exactly.  p.  141. 


f 


mi 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


m 


^536.  bladed  paddle,  five  or  six  feet  long,  which  serves  ai  once 
as  oar,  rudder,  and  balance  or  counterpoise.  The 
pigmies  of  Copenhagen  greatly  diverted  the  Spanish  am- 
bassa  ior.  They  crossed  each  other's  course,  and  performed 
all  the  other  evolutions  with  so  much  addreus,  that  they 
always  remained  at  the  same  distance  from  each  other, 
and  they  passed  so  rapidly  as  to  dazzle  one.  They  then 
ran  a  race  with  a  light  boat,  pulled  by  sixteen  good  row- 
ers, and  in  a  moment  left  it  far  behind.  The  Esquimaux, 
who  use  the  same  kind  of  boats,  have  also  a  larger  kind, 
nearly  of  the  form  of  our  decked  sloops ;  the  frame  is  of 
wood,  but  covered,  like  the  othbrs,  with  skins ;  they  will 
carry  as  many  as  a  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  and  go 
equally  well  with  sails  and  oars. 

But  to  close  this  digression,  which  is  not,  however,  for- 
eign to  my  subject,  these  pigmies  of  North  America  seem  to 
me  to  be  of  the  same  race  as  the  Laps  and  the  Samoyedes, 
and  prove  quite  satisfactorily,  it  seems  to  me,  an  easy  pas- 
sage from  Europe  to  America  by  Greenland.  As  for  the 
monstrous  men  described  by  the  slave  of  Mr.  de  Courte- 
manche  and  by  Donuacona,  and  the  headless  men,  killed 
it  is  pretended  by  an  Iroquois  hunter,  a  few  years  since, 
while  hunting,  it  is  easy  to  beUeve  that  there  is  some  exag- 
geration, but  it  is  easier  to  deny  extraordinary  facts  than 
to  explain  them ;  and,  moreover,  are  we  at  liber*'-  to  reject 
whatever  we  cannot  explain  ?  Who  can  pretend  to  know 
all  the  caprices  and  mysteries  of  nature  ?  We  know  how 
the  imagination  of  a  mother  affects  her  unborn  offspring. 
Experience,  the  very  testimony  of  Scripture,  are  an  indis- 
putable proof.  Add  to  this  the  strange  figures,  regarded 
by  some  nations  as  a  beauty,  and  so  jealously  adhered  to, 
that  they  put  the  bodies  of  their  children  to  torture  to 
complete  what  the  mother's  imagination  could  not  effect ; 
and  we  can  easily  conceive  that  there  can  be  men  different 
enough  from  the  generality,  to  allow  some  people  who 
catch  at  an  object  quickly  without  taking  time  to  examine, 
to  relate  absurd  stories,  not,  however,  without  some  reality. 


m 


JKWMI- 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


129 


I  return  to  my  history.  iS40' 

Cartier,  as  has  been  observed,  had  unintentionally  pre-  '— 'v-*-' 
judiced  many  people  against  Canada ;  but  some  persons  at  pe  Rober- 
court  thought  differently  from  the  mass,  and  were  not  in-  \"]  viceroy' 
clined  to  abandon  so  soon  an  enterprise,  the  success  of  ofC""****- 
which  should  not  depend  on  one  or  two  attempts.  The 
one  most  imbued  with  this  thought  was  a  gentleman  of 
Picardy,  Francis  de  la  Roque,  Seigneur  de  Rober-val, 
highly  esteemed  in  his  province,  and  whom  Francis  I. 
sometimes  styled  the  Petty  King  of  Vimeu.  He  asked 
aud  obtained  a  commission  to  follow  up  the  discoveries  ; 
but  a  mere  commission  was  too  insignificant  for  a  man  of 
his  rank,  aud  the  king,  by  letters  patent  inserted  in  the 
Etat  Ordinaire  des  Guer^-^,  in  the  Chambre  des  Coraptes 
at  Paris,  dated  January  15,  1540,  declares  him  Lord  of 
Norimbegua,  his  viceroy  aud  Ueuteuant-geneial  in  Canada, 
Hochelaga,  Saguenay,  Newfoundland,  Belleisle,  Carpon, 
Labrador,  Great  Bay,  and  Baccalaos,  giving  him  in  all 
these  places  hia  own  royal  power  and  authority.'  This 
was  not  much,  as  every  thing  was  yet  to  be  done  to  se- 
cure to  France  possession  of  all  these  places.  Mr.  de 
Eoberval  sailed  the  next  year  with  five  vessels,  having 
under  him  Jacques  Cartier  as  chief  pilot."    Some  authors 


1541. 

His  flnit 
voyage. 


'  Leecarbot  gives  this  patent  in  fall ; 
edition  1618,  p.  397.  Parkman,  p. 
197,  oonfonnde  commission  and  pa- 
tent. There  is  n.^  authority  that 
Cartier  had  prejudiced  people  against 
Canada.  His  Brief  Recit  praises  it, 
and  hardly  bears  out  the  assertion 
of  Le  Clercq  (Etablissement  de  la 
Foi,  L  9),  that  he  resolved  not  to  re- 
turn to  Canada. 

'  Roberval  did  not  go  with  Car- 
tier.  Charlevoix,  like  Champlain.  Le 
Clercq,  and  most  previous  French 
writers,  seems  to  have  known  noth- 
ing of  Hakluyt  and  of  the  accounts 
of  Cartier's  third  voyage,  and  that 
of  Roberval,  with  the  letters  of  Car- 
VoL.  I.— 9 


tier's  nephew,  preserved  by  the  Eng- 
lish collector.  To  give  the  true 
state  of  facts,  it  will  be  necessary 
here  to  abridge  the  narrative.  Car- 
tier  was  appointed  captain-general 
and  master-pilot  of  the  expedition, 
by  royal  commission,  dated  October 
17,  1540,  and  set  to  work,  under 
Roberval's  order,  to  fit  out  ships  at 
St.  Malo ;  the  plan  being  to  sail  in 
April,  1S41,  with  thirteen  vessels  and 
two  thousand  five  hundred  men,  with 
provisions  for  two  years,  says  a 
Spanish  account  (Buckingham  Smith, 
Colleccion  de  Documentos,  4o,  Lon- 
dres,  1887,  p.  108).  He  certainly 
got  five  ships  ready  ;  but  Roberval 


130 


fflSTORT  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1541.     allege  that  Cartier  was  very  reluctant  to  undertake  this 

""^^""'  new  voyage,  but  was  tempted  by  the  advantageous  offers 

made  him.    The  voyage  was  successful.   De  Koberval  built 

a  fort,  some  say  uii  the  river  St.  Lawrence,'  others  on  Cape 

Breton  Island,'  leaving  Cartier  as  commandant,  with  a 

numerous  garrison,  sufficient  provisions,  and  one  of  his 

vessels,  after  which  he  returned  to  France  to  seek  greater 

re-enforcements. 

1542-         His  post  was  apparently  ill-chosen,  and,  perhaps,  the 

^ioyage!"*  Settlers  left  were  not  selected  with  sufficient  judgment ;  we 

know  certainly  that  the  cold  and  discomforts  of  the  coun- 


not  having  his  cannon  and  ammuni- 
tion, went  to  Rouen  to  get  them,  and 
directed  Cartier  to  Bail  (Hakluyt,  iiL 
233).  Cartier  accordingly  weighed 
anchor.  May  23, 1641.  Halcluyt  (lb.) 
says  1540,  but  it  was  1541,  as  the 
Spanish  spy's  report  and  receipts, 
signed  at  St.  Malo  by  Cartier,  May 
7, 1541,  show  (Ferland,  Cours  d'His- 
toire,  i.  40).  Owing  to  a  dispersion 
by  a  atorm,  they  reached  Ste.  Croix 
only  on  August  23d. 

'  He  did  not  reoocupy  his  old  fort, 
bat  built  a  new  one,  Charlesbourg 
Royal,  at  Cap  Rouge  River,  four 
leagues  higher  up  ;  and  having  forti- 
fied it,  and  laid  up  three  vessels  se- 
curely, sent  the  other  two  back  to 
France  (Hakluyt,  iii.  234).  Leaving 
je  Viscount  de  Beaupre  in  command 
of  the  fort,  Cartier  ag^in  ascended  to 
Hochelaga  (ib.,  235).  On  hi^  return, 
he  found  the  Indians  hostile.  Two  of 
the  settlers  had  been  killed  (Thevet, 
Le  Grand  Insulcure  at  Pilotage,  cited 
by  Ferland),  and  the  French  com- 
mander at  last  yielded  to  the  clamors 
of  his  people,  and  set  sail  for  France 
in  the  spring  of  1543.  Rolwrval  liod 
sailed  firom  France,  April  16  of  that 
year,  with  three  large  ships,  and 
two  liundred  of  both  sexes.  On  the 
8tb  of  June,  whUe  in  the  harI)or  of 


St.  John,  Nevkfoundland,  Cartier  ar- 
rived (Hakluyt,  iii.  240).  "  Hee  en- 
formed  the  Oenerall  that  he  could 
not,  with  his  small  company,  with- 
stand the  savages,  which  went  about 
daily  to  annoy  him,  and  that  this 
was  the  cause  of  his  return  into 
France"  (ib.)  Roberval  ordered  him 
to  return,  but  avers  that  he  stole 
away  at  night.  In  July,  Roberval 
anchored  before  CharleslMurg  Royal, 
now  styled  France  Roi,  as  the  river 
was  France  Prime.  After  rebuild- 
ing the  fort,  Roberval,  on  the  14th 
of  September,  sent  back  two  ships 
(ib.,  341).  After  a  severe  winter,  with 
scurvy,  sufiering,  and  disorders,  he 
set  out  for  Saguenay,  and  sent  Jean 
Alphonse,  of  Xaintonge,  to  explore 
(he  northern  coasts  (ib.,  243).  But  the 
colony,  made  up  of  wretched  mate- 
rial, would  have  perished,  but  for 
the  aid  of  the  Indians.  Cartier  was 
sent  out  in  the  autumn  of  1543,  and 
'1  thb  following  spring  took  back  to 
France  the  sad  remnants  of  the  ex- 
pedition. Documents  sur  Jacques 
Cartier  (Quebec,  1863),  p.  126 ;  Fer- 
land, Coors  d  Histoire,  i.  46. 

»  Lescarbot  (ed.  1609,  p.  433  ;  1611; 
p.  416)  says  Cape  Breton;  Cham- 
plain  says  Isle  Orleans  (ed.  10o3,  p. 
304).    See  Le  Cleroq,  i.  12. 


' 


' 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  PRANCE. 


131 


\> 


try  soon  disgusted  the  garrison  of  the  new  fort.  The  In- 
dians, on  their  side,  took  umbrage  at  these  strangers  and 
began  to  trouble  them.  All  this,  and  probably  de  Rober- 
val's  slight  delay  in  returning,  forced  Cartier  to  re-embark 
with  all  his  party  for  France.  Near  Newfoundland  they 
fell  in  with  the  viceroy,  coming  with  a  large  convoy,  who, 
partly  by  his  persuasive  manner  and  partly  by  threats  of 
the  royal  indignation,  induced  them  to  return. 

As  soon  as  he  had  restored  all  things  in  his  fort,  he  left 
Jacques  Oartier  there  again  with  the  mass  of  his  party ; 
then  he  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence,  entered  the  Saguenay 
even,  and  sent  one  of  his  pilots,  Alphonse,  a  native  of  Por- 
tugal, according  to  some,  or  of  Galicia,  to  others,  to  seek 
a  route  to  the  East  Indies  to  the  north  of  Newfoundland. 
Alphonse  ascended  to  the  fifty-second  degree  of  latitude, 
but  went  no  further.  "We  are  not  told  how  long  his 
voyage  lasted,  but  there  is  every  appearance  that  he  did 
not  find  de  Boberval  in  Canada,  inasmuch  as  he  made  his 
report  of  discovery  to  Jacques  Cartier.' 

Mr.  de  Koberval  apparently  made  other  voyages  to  Ca- 
nada, but,  according  to  good  authorities,  he  was  detained  in 
France  for  several  years  by  the  war  which  ensued  between 
Francis  I.  and  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  winning  distinction 
in  that  war,  as  he  had  done  on  several  other  occasions. 
All  agree  that  he  embarked  again  in  1549  with  his  brother, 
esteemed  one  of  the  bravest  men  in  France,  and  surnamed 
by  Francis  I.  the  Gendarme  dCAnnibd.  They  perished  in 
this  voyage,  with  aU  their  companions,  and  it  was  never 
really  known  by  what  accident  it  happened."  With  them  per- 


1542. 


'  See  hia  Report,  in  Hakluyt,  lii. 
Jacques  Cartier  is  here  dismissed 
by  Charlevoix.  We  may  add  that  he 
was  bom  of  a  good  family  of  St. 
Malo,  In  December,  1494,  and  May 
2, 1510,  married  Marie  Eatherine  des 
Oranches,  daughter  of  a  knight. 
Cartier  was  then  master  pilot.  After 
the  voyages  nirrated  in  the  preced- 


ing pages,  he  retired  to  Limoilou, 
near  St.  Malo,  where  an  estate  stiU 
l)ears  his  name.  Here,  ennobled  by 
the  king,  he  died  about  1555,  child- 
less. 

'  Thevet,  in  his  Cosmographie, 
says  that  Roberral.  was  killed  by 
night,  near  Saint  Innocent,  at  Paris 
(Ferland,  i.  45). 


1549. 

His  last 
Toyajf*. 


■ 


132 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


»549- 


' 


lii 


ished  all  the  hopes  that  had  been  conceived  of  establishing 
a  colony  in  America,  no  one  flattering  himself  with  the  pos- 
session of  greater  ability  or  success  than  these  two  brave  men. 

I  do  Hot  see  to  whom  we  are  to  attribute  an  anonymous 
relation,  without  date,  in  the  third  volume  of  Bamusio, 
entitled,  "Discourse  of  a  great  Sea  Captain, a  Frenchman 
of  Dieppe,  on  voyages  made  to  Newfoundland  in  the  West 
Indies,  called  New  France,  from  the  fortieth  to  the  forty- 
seventh  degree,  towards  the  Arctic  pole,  and  on  the  land  of 
Brazil,  Guinea,  the  Island  of  St.  Lav^-ence  and  that  of 
Sumatra,  as  far  as  the  French  ships  and  caravels  have 
sailed."  Bamusio,  whose  preface  at  the  head  of  this  dis- 
course distinguishes  two  voyages  of  this  captain,  the  first 
in  1539  to  Canada,  Airioa,  and  Brazil ;  the  second  to  the 
East  Indies,  without  mentioning  the  year,  adds :  "  This 
discourse  appears  to  us  reaUy  a  very  fine  one,  worthy  of 
being  read  by  every  one ;  and  we  legret  much  not  to 
know  the  author's  name,  because  did  we  know  it  we 
should  not  fail  to  name  him,  and  not  wrong  the  memory 
of  so  brave  a  man  and  accomplished  a  cavalier."  ' 

After  the  death  of  the  Bobervals,  Francis  I.  seems  to 
have  taken  no  more  interest  in  America.  In  the  succeed- 
ing reign,  the  voyage  of  some  Frenchmen  to  Brazil  having 
excited  in  France  great  ideas  of  the  wealth  of  that  coun- 
try. Admiral  Coligni  proposed  to  King  Henry  II.  to  share 
them  with  the  king  of  Portugai  His  design  was  ap- 
proved, as  well  as  his  choice,  for  executing  it,  of  Nicholas 
Durand  de  Villegagnon,  Knight  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem 
and  Vice- Admiral  of  Brittany.  He  was  a  man  of  merit, 
but  who,  havmg  had  the  misfortune  to  engage  in  the  new 
errors,  was  not  ashamed  to  lend  himself  to  a  project,  the 
aim  of  which  was  less  to  acquire  for  France  a  part  of 
Brazil,  than  secure  there  a  resource  for  Calvinism,  pro- 
scribed and  persecuted  in  France.    Happily  for  religion, 


'This  account,  aecribod  to  Joha    in  part  an  actual  voyage,  the  two 
Parinentier,  is  in  part  a  routicr  and    being  greatly  confused. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE, 


133 


w 


ony  m 
Florida. 


he  at  last  opened  his  eyes ;  but  not  being  after  his  conver-  1555. 
sion  able  to  maintain  his  enterprise  with  the  Catholics  ^-~y^-^ 
alone,  this  whole  expedition  ended  in  smoke.  The  Por- 
tuguese, alarmed  at  the  marked  preference  of  the  Brazil- 
ians for  the  French,  profited  by  the  division  which  de  ViUe- 
gagnon's  return  to  the  Church  had  caused  among  his 
colonists ;  and  to  set  their  minds  at  rest,  once  for  all,  in 
that  quarter,  they  put  to  death  as  pirates  and  vagabonds 
all  the  French  who  remained  in  Brazil  after  the  departure 
of  the  vice-admiral.' 

France,  in  the  reigns  of  Francis  II.  and  Charles  IX.,  torn     1562. 
to  its  very  foundation  by  civil  war,  seemed  at  first  to  have  coiign?  »^ 
entirely  lost  sight  of  America.     Yet  amid  all  her  storms,  fou^c^H  <i>u 
she  had  some  tranquil  days,  and  Admiral  de  Coligni  again 
seized  his  opportunity  to  endeavor  to  effect  elsewhere  what 
he  could  no  longer  hope  to  accomplish  in  Brazil.    He  cast 
his  eyes  on  that  part  of  Florida  which  Verazani  had  dis- 
covered, and  this  country  seemed  to  him  the  more  adapted 
for  a  colony  such  as  he  projected,  from  the  fact  that  be- 
sides the  goodness  of  the  climate  and  the  fertility  of  the 
soil,  he  flattered  himself  that  the  French  would  find  no 
one  there  to  dispute  their  possession,  or  even  molest  them. 

Florida  is  all  that  part  of  the  continent  of  America  lying  Extent  of 
between  the  two  Mexicos,  New  France,  and  North  Caro- 
lina. According  to  the  Spaniards,  it  includes  aU  east  of 
the  province  of  Panuco — that  is  to  say,  it  has  no  limits 
in  the  north,  east,  and  south ;  and  all  the  French  and 
English  colonies  in  North  America  are  in  Florida  and  in- 
vasions on  the  Spanish  crown.  A  modern  author,  Don 
Andi'e  Gonzalez  de  Barcia,'  supports  his  pretension  on  a 


Florida. 


MqBjapw*' 


1 


'  As  to  this  colony,  Bee  Jean  de 
Lery,  Histoire  d'un  Voyage  fait  en 
la  Terre  dii  BresU,  1578 ;  Temaux, 
Archives  de  Voyage,  i.,  reprinting 
Copie  de  Quelques  Lettres,  Paris, 
1557 ;  Histoire  des  Glioses  Memo- 
rabies  advenues  en  la  Terre  du  Breail, 
Qentve,  1561 ;  Nichcilae  Barn',  Let- 


tres Bur  la  Navigation  du  Chevalier 
Villegaignon,  Paris,  1568 ;  Lescar- 
bot,  142-184. 

'  Ensayo  Cronologico  de  la  Florida, 
4o,  Madrid,  1723.  Basanier,  His- 
toire Notable,  i.,  etc. ;  De  Qalloram 
expeditione  in  "  Novae  Novi  Orbis 
HistorisB,"  Geneva,  1578,  p.  429. 


134 


HIS  TORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1562.  very  ruinous  foun'lation,  basing  it  on  the  discoveries  of 
PoncG  de  Leon,  Luke  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  ;  aud  on  the  ex- 
peditions of  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez  and  Hernando  de  Soto. 
Now,  Ponce  de  Leon  discovered  I'lorida  only  in  1612,  and 
several  years  before,  Frenchmon,  Englishmen,  and  the 
Portuguese  Cortereal  had  madt,  discoveries  in  North 
America.  Ponce  de  Leon  not  only  made  no  settlement  in 
Florida,  but  on  the  two  occasions  when  he  landed,  was 
ohU'^'bc'  to  re-embark  at  once,  while  the  French,  from  the 
year  1504,  had  traded  with  the  people  of  Canada.  If  Ca- 
nada then  is  part  of  Florida,  France  in  point  of  date  is  first  in 
possession  of  Florida,  ivnd  it  would  bo  ridiculous  to  make  tho 
imposition  of  a  name  by  Ponce  do  Leon  on  a  country  lying 
on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  give  his  nation  a  right  to  at  least 
three-quarters  of  North  America,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
French,  who  traded  there  and  had  formed  alhances  with 
nations  five  or  six  hundred  leagues  from  his  disco  'ery. 

Luke  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  discovered  in  1520  the  country 
on  the  Jordan,  now  pnrt  of  Carolina.  His  expedition  was  as 
unsucce5sful  and  as  unprodu  ave  of  results  as  that  of  John 
Ponce  de  Leon.  Some  years  after,'  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez 
obtained  fiom  the  Emperor  Chavlen  V.  the  government  of 
Florida.  He  visitetl  almost  all  the  northern  coast  of  the 
Gulf  ot  Mexico,  had  several  engagements  with  the  Indians, 
who  killed  many  of  his  men,  and  at  last  perished  miserably, 
without  having  even  built  a  fort.' 

Finally,  Hernando  de  Soto'  during  throe  or  four  years 
mode  long  marches  ih»'ough  Florida,  of  which  he  had  been 
made  captain-general ;  but  he  advanced  no  further  north 
than  Carohna,  and  died  on  the  banks  of  the  Mi.5sissippi, 
without  even  attempting  to  plant  himself  on  a  single  spot.* 


1  I 


..i 


'  1527. 

*  Of  this  expedition  we  have  the 
curious  account  of  Alvnr  Nunez 
Cabeza  de  Vaca,  of  whicli  a  trai'sla- 
tion,  with  notes,  has  been  given  hy 
Buckingham  Smith,  4o,  Washing- 
ton, 1851. 


'  1538. 

'  As  to  De  Soto,  we  have  the  Re- 
\aqa.w  vcrdadeija  .  .  per  hu  fidal- 
go  Del  lias,  Evora,  1557.  See  a  now 
translation,  with  exha'..,tivo  notes, 
by  Buckingham  Smith,  New  York, 
1806  ;   and  la  Florida  del  Ynca  o 


CARTE.  DES  COSTES  1>E.1^  ELOHIDE 

ERAN9OISE 

£chellc  ck.'  Lienc*  conummes  de  Frai.  r«  dr  >£  au  Ol  <«> 


^   NEWTON.  5! 


.■^'/ 


I 


'!^|(> 


■1     ' 


m 


-xi 


■  u^lfS^Ui.^, 


i^.iisiKAt,'. —  *ny 


■'''  ', 

A: 
if:- 


Kioi^lmnPi  ttm* 


i«» 


y 


\  i 


^ 


iv. 


■:?■ 


jyt. 


-.':^*"'l,  .■rfl*"' 


^t 


_:! 


Y. 


^■N 


|6;;^jli>ilW»' 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


135 


fi    ! 


,.->y 


\ 


Louis  (le  MoMOOHo,  Imh  Huccensor,  Boon  brought  hack  to     i  $62. 
Mexico  tlie  Had  roiiiuinH  of  liin  army  ;  and  not  a  Hingle  -^-v— ' 
Spaniard  remained  in  Florida,  which  was  consequently 
in  about  the  name  condition  an  it  had  been  previouH  to  the 
first  discovery  by  Ponce  de  Leon. 

It  was  still  so  twenty  yeors  loter,  when  Admiral  do 
CoUgni  formed  the  project  of  planting  a  colony  there  com- 
posed entirely  of  people  of  his  religion;  a  project  which, 
occording  to  all  appearances,  he  did  not  disclose  to  Charles 
IX.,  to  whom  he  displayed  it  only  as  an  enterprise  ex- 
tremely advantageous  to  France.  That  prince  left  him 
complete  master,  permitting  him  to  use  to  the  full  extent 
the  power  given  him  by  his  office.  It  seems  even,  in  the 
sequel,  that  he  was  not  so  ignorant,  but  quite  pleased  that 
de  Coligni  employed  only  Calvinists  oji  the  expedition,  be- 
cause they  were  so  many  enemies  of  whom  he  delivered 
the  State. 

The  admiral's  chief  anxiety  was  the  selection  of  a  leader  jobn  de  Ri- 
on  whom  he  coiUd  rely  to  carry  out  his  project,  and  his  0? the  o'ntcr- 
choice  fell  on  an  old  naval  officer,  named  John  de  Bibaut,     '"'"''■ 
a  native  of  Dieppe,  a  man  of  experience  and  a  zealous 
Huguenot.    He  sailed  from  Dieppe  the  18th  of  February, 
luGi,  wiili  two  vesaels  of  the  kind  then  caUed  roberges, 
and  which  differed  but  slightly  from  the  Spanish  caravels ; 
he  had  picked  crews  and  several  volunteers,  some  of  whom 
were  gentlemen.' 

The  first  laud  which  he  saw  was  a  low,  well-wooded  ue  takes 
point,  at  about  30°  north,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  ofFrench 
French  Cape ;'  but  he  did  not  land  there,  and  turning 
to  the  right  he  soon  after  discovered  a  river  which  he 
styled  River  of  Dolphins,  but  he  did  not  enter  it.    Still 


FloridH. 


Hititoria  del  Adelantado  Hernandu 
de  Soto,  80, 1005,  freely  translated  in 
T.  Irving'e  Conquest  of  Florida. 

'  Ribauld,  The  Whole  and  True 
Discovery  of  Terra  Florida  iHakluyt, 
Divers  Voyages  touching  the  Dis- 
coverie  of  America,  London,  1582, 


rep.),  p.  04  ;    Basanier,    L'Histolre 
Notable  de  la  Floride,  15. 

'  Histolre  Notable,  p.  16.  Ribauld 
(Whole  and  True  Discovery,  p.  197) 
says  20J°.  Parkman  thinks  it  one 
of  the  headlandR  of  Matanzas  Inlet. 
Pioneers  of  New  France,  p.  80. 


.  t<t 


136 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1562.  holding  on  the  same  course,  he  discovered  another  at 
^■""r-"^  about  fifteen  leagues  from  the  former,  and  appearing  to 
him  to  be  much  larger.  He  entered  it  on  the  1st  of  May, 
and  styled  it  May  River.'  He  found  Indians  there  in 
great  numbers,  and  perceiving  that  his  arrival  gave  them 
pleasure,  he  landed,  and  began  to  rear,  on  a  sandy  hiU,  a 
small  stone  column,  on  which  he  had  engraved  the  arms 
of  France.  He  then  visited  the  chief  of  the  Indians,  with 
whom  he  exchanged  presents." 

HiB  diseov-  He  had  in  his  mind  the  Jordan  discovered  by  Luke  Vas- 
quez  de  Ayllon,  and  accordingly,  after  taking  possession  of 
the  country  in  the  name  of  the  king  and  admiral  of  France, 
he  re-embarked  and  kept  on  his  northerly  course,  coasting 
along  in  sight  of  land.  Fourteen  leagues  from  May  River 
he  met  a  third,  which  he  called  the  Seine.* 

Ke  then  gave  all  the  rivers,  which  ho  found  for  sixty 
leagues,  the  names  of  the  chief  rivers  of  France  ;  but  it  was 
subsequently  discovered  that  he  had  taken  several  inlets 
for  mouths  of  rivers.  At  last,  as  he  supposed,  he  dis- 
covered the  Jordan,  but  he  was  deceived ;  it  was  still  to  the 
northward,  and  the  river  where  he  entered,  and  anchored 
in  ten  fathoms  water,  was  afterwards  called  by  the  Span- 
iards Rio  de  la  Santa  Cruz.  But  the  English,  who  have 
built  on  its  banks  the  city  of  St.  George  or  New  London, 
have  again  changed  the  name  to  Edisto,  and  it  is  marked, 
in  some  of  our  maps,  Shawnee  River  (Riviere  des  Chaouan- 
ons).* 

Ha  builds  a  Mr.  de  Ribaut,  having  no  doubt  but  that  it  was  the  Jor- 
dan, called  the  spot  where  he  had  anchored  Port  Royal. 
He  then  planted  (May  20)  the  arms  of  France,  and  next 
laid  out  on  the  island  a  small  fort,  which  was  soon  ready 
to  receive  his  party,  and  which  he  called  Charles  Fort.' 


fort. 


'  Ribauld,  Whole  and  True  Dis- 
covery, pp.  98,  100.  Now  the  St. 
John's. 

»  Histoiro  Notable,  p.  16  ;  Ribauld, 
Whole  and    'rue  Discovery,  p.  103. 


'  Histoire  Notable,  p.  36. 

*  The  fidisto  does  not  enter  Port 
Royal.  The  river  emptying  into  the 
bay  is  the  Broad. 

•  Histoire  Notable,  pp.  22-38 ;  Rl- 


';'v 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE.  137 

He  could  scarcely  hare  placed  it  better.  The  surrounding  1562. 
country  is  beautiful,  the  soil  fertile,  the  river  teeming  with  ^-'v—' 
fish,  the  woods  full  of  game,  the  laurels  and  the  mastics 
diffuse  a  very  sweet  odor,  and  the  Indians  of  the  district 
testified  no  less  friendship  to  the  French  than  those  of  May 
River  had  done.  However,  de  Bibaut,  convinced  that  he 
could  not  make  a  more  acceptable  present  to  the  admiral 
and  the  queen-mother,  sought  to  induce  some  natives  to 
accompany  him  to  France,  but  could  never  gain  a  single 
one. 

What  wc  have  said  of  the  neighborhood  of  Port  Royal  Description 
applies  quite  well  to  the  whole  country  which  has  since    Florida. 
borne  the  name  of  French  Florida,  and  which  Ues  between 
30°  and  35°  north,  from   French  Cape  to  Charles  Fort. 
Several  relations  give  it  also  the  name  of  New  France.' 
The  soil  is  generally  fertile,  well  watered,  traversed  by 
livers,  some  of  considerable  size,  and  all  abounding  in  fish. 
It  was  long  believed  that  there  were  mines  of  gold,  silver, 
and  copper  there,  with  pearls  and  precious  stones ;  but  as 
things  were  scrutinized  more  closely,  it  was  found  that 
there  was,  indeed,  copper  m  some  places,  and  poor  enough 
pearls  in  two  or  three  rivers,  but  that  the  gold  and  silver 
seen  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians  came  from  the  Spaniards, 
many  of  whom  had  been  wrecked  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Bahama  Channel,  and  along  the  neighboring  coast  of  Flor- 
ida.'   Their  ships,  almost  always  loaded  with  the  wealth  The  gouro« 
of  America,  were  often  lost  on  the  sand-banks  which  hne  wealth  of 
this  coast,  and  the  Indians  were  very  careful  to  profit  by  '  lians.''' 
their  misfortunes.    It  was  remarked  that  those  nearer  the 
sea  were  much  better  furnished  than  the  others  with  their 


! 


'M 


bkold,  Whole  and  True  Discovery, 
p.  1 14.  Charles  Fort  was  apparently 
on  Archer's  Creek,  called  by  Kibaut 
the  Chenonceau,  about  the  site  of 
Keaufort,  Port  Royal  and  Parris 
Island  being  considered  as  one 
island,  and  that  being  the  eligible 
spot  likely  to  take  the  eye.    Bancroft 


supposed  it  to  have  been  on  Parris 
Island.  Compare  Parkman,  Pioneers 
of  France,  p.  34.  He  planted  the 
French  arms,  May  20,  near  the  River 
libourne  (p.  113). 

■  Laudonniere  in  the  Histoire  No- 
table, p.  4. 

'  Histoire  Notable,  p.  6. 


138 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE, 


1562.  spoils.  These  Indians  have  a  deeper  color,  more  inclining 
^""'r^^'  to  red,  than  those  of  Canada,  caused  by  the  oil  with  which 
they  rub  their  bodies,  and  the  nature  of  which  has  never 
been  ascertained.  In  other  respects,  there  was  no  sensible 
diflferer  le  between  them  and  otb  ^r  nations  of  North 
Ainerik  They  use  less  covering,  because  they  inhabit  a 
warmer  country ;  they  are  more  dependent  on  their  chiefs, 
styled  in  the  French  accounts  Faraoustis  or  Paracoustis,' 
and  to  whom  the  Spaniards  apply  the  general  title  of 
Caciques.  But  whatever  idea  the  Spanish  historians  have 
sought  to  give  us  of  the  power  and  wealth  of  these 
Caciques,  it  dwindles  in  reaUty  to  insignificance. 
The  oharac-  The  Floridiaus  are  well  formed,  brave,  proud,  yet  tract- 
peopie***  able  enough  when  managed  with  mildness  and  reason. 
They  are  not  as  cruel  to  their  prisoners  as  those  of  Ca- 
nada ;  and  although,  like  the  latter,  cannibals,  they  do  not 
carry  inhumanity  so  far  as  to  make  the  sufferings  of  a 
miserable  wretch  a  spectacle  of  pleasure,  or  torture  an  art. 
"^omen  and  children  taken  in  war,  they  are  satisfied  with 
keeping  in  slavery;  men  they  immolate  to  the  sun,  and 
deem  it  a  religious  duty  to  eat  the  flesh  of  these  victims. 

On  the  march  and  in  battle  the  Faraoustis  are  always 
at  the  head  of  their  troops,  holding  a  tomahawk  or  a  kind 
of  war-club  in  one  hand  and  an  arrow  in  the  other.  The 
baggage  is  carried  by  hermaphrodites,  of  whom  there  are 
great  numbers  in  the  country,  if  we  believe  Bene  de  Lau- 
donniere,  an  author  who  was  long  on  the  spot."  These 
people  are  also  accustomed  to  scalp  their  fallen  enemies ; 
and  in  the  rejoicings  after  a  victory,  the  old  women  lead 
the  procession,  adorned  with  these  scalps.  They  might 
then  be  taken  for  real  megarse,  or  furies.  The  Faraoustis 
can  decide  nothing  on  important  occasions  without  assem- 
bling the  council,  where,  before  proceeding  to  business, 
they  begin  by  swallowing  a  great  draught  of  apalachine, 


V' 


'  HiBtoire  NotAble,  p.  97,  etc.  These  catamites  are  depicted  in  Le 

•  Baaanier,  Hist.  Notable,  pp.  7-9.    Moyne  de  Morgues,  plate  xvii. 


i' 


HIBTORT  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


189 


f 


*■ 


which  they  then  distribute  to  all  who  constitute  the  ae-     1562. 
sembly.'  "— -~y-^^ 

The  sun  is,  in  some  sort,  the  only  divinity  of  the  Flori-  Their  reii- 
dians;'  all  their  temples  are  consecrated  to  it;  but  the  moraii. 
worship  which  they  render  it  varies  according  to  the  district. 
It  is  pretended  that  morals  are  very  corrupt  throughout 
Florida,  and  that  the  venereal  disease,  which  the  West  In- 
dies conveyed  to  Europeans,  is  very  common  there.  It  is 
certain,  at  least,  that  the  nearer  you  approach  Florida,  from 
Canada,  the  more  corrupt  the  Indians  are  found ;  and  that 
the  debauchery  now  seen  among  the  Iroquois,  and  other 
nations  still  further  north,  springs,  in  a  considerable  degree, 
from  their  intercourse  with  the  tribes  of  the  West  and 
South.  Polygamy  is  permitted  in  Florida,  only  to  the  Pa- 
raoustis,  and  even  they  give  the  name  of  wife  to  only  one ; 
the  rest  being  really  slaves,  transmitting  to  their  offspring 
no  right  of  inheritance  from  the  father.' 

Great  honors  are  paid  to  these  chiefs  in  life,  and  still  Honors 
greater  after  death.*  Their  burial-place  is  fenced  in  with  chief, 
arrows  planted  in  the  ground;  and  the  cup  from  which 
they  usually  drank,  is  placed  on  the  grave.  The  whole 
village  weeps  and  fasts  for  three  days.  The  cabin  of  the 
departed  is  burned,  with  all  the  articles  specially  used  by 
him,  as  though  no  one  was  worthy  to  use  them  after  him. 
Then  the  women  cut  off  their  hair,  and  scatter  it  over  the 
tomb ;'  to  which  several  go  thrice  a  day,  in  turn,  for  six 
months,  to  weep.  The  Paraoustis  of  the  neighboring 
towns  come  also  to  pay,  ceremoniously,  the  last  honors  to 
the  deceased. 

They  employ  almost  as  much  ceremony  on  the  death  of  MiniHterg  of 
the  ministers  of  religion,*  who  are  also  the  physicians  of    ''  '*'°°" 
the  country,  and  who  differ  little  from  the  medicine-men  of 


■  Basanier,  HlBtoire  Notable,  p.  10. 
He  calle  it  Casine. 

'  lb.,  p.  8 ;  Ribauld,  Whole  and 
True  DiBCovery,  p.  99. 

»  Histoire  Notable,  p.  8. 


•  lb.,  p.  10  ;  Le  Mojne  de  Morgues, 
plate  xi. 

•  Le   Moyne   ue   Morgues,   plate 
xix. 

•  Histoire  Notable,  p.  11. 


-  (I 


i  II 


140 


mSTORT  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1562.  Canada,  except  in  being  more  given  to  divination;  but 
^'"""''""^  they  have  to  deal  with  a  more  superstitious  people.  The 
education  given  to  children  consists  almost  exclusively  in 
training  them  to  run,  without  distinction  of  sex ;  and  prizes 
ave  oCered  to  those  who  excel.  Hence  it  follows  that  they 
are  all,  both  men  and  women,  of  wonderful  agility.  You 
see  them  at  the  top  of  the  highest  trees  before  you  see 
them  climb.  They  are  also  very  skilful  in  the  use  of  the 
bow,  and  in  hurling  a  kind  of  javelin,  which  they  use  very 
effectively  in  war.  To  conclude,  they  swim  with  extreme 
speed ;  even  women,  though  burdened  with  their  children, 
which  they  car?."y  on  their  arms,  swim  over  large  rivers.' 
Animals.  The  most  common  quadrupeds  in  this  part  of  Florida 
are  two  kinds  of  lion,  the  stag,  deer,  bison  (not  differ- 
ing from  that  of  Canada),  hind,  ''titer,  beaver,  wolf,  hare, 
rabbit,  wildcat,  and  woodrat ;  but  aU  are  not  found  in  the 
same  districts.  Most  of  our  birds  of  prey  and  aquatic 
birds  are  seen  every >vhere ;  as  well  as  partridges,  wild 
pigeons,  ringdoves,  storks,  guineahens,  cormorants,  many 
kinds  of  parrots,  and  various  small  birds.  The  hum- 
Uilng-bird  of  Canada  is  not  seen  there  in  summer,  but  re- 
tires there  in  winter,  this  little  animal  being,  apparently, 
imable  t-^  stand  either  extreme  heat  or  cold.  The  rivers 
are  full  of  alligators  ;  the  fields  and  woods  of  serpents,  es- 
pecially of  those  called  rattlesnakes. 
Trees.  The  forests  abound  in  pines,  which  bear  no  fruit,  oaks, 
walnuts,  mulberry,  lentisks,  bourbon  palms,  chestnuts, 
cedar,  cyi)res8,  laurel,  palm-trees,  and  vines.  Medlars  are 
also  found,  with  fruit  larger  and  better  than  in  France ;  and 
plum-trees,  with  very  delicate  plums.'  It  may  well  be  that 
these  plums  are  no  other  than  the  piakimines  mentioned  in 
my  journal.  But  the  tree  most  esteemed  in  the  country 
is  sassafras,  which  the  Floridians  c.-'U  palame  or  pavama.' 


>  Histoire  Notable,  pp.  7,  13. 

•  Probably  P.  Americana,  Hist. 
Notable,  p.  5.  Of  the  plums,  he  says  : 
"Fort  beau,  mais  non  gueres  bon." 


^  See  description  u.'  animaia  and 
plants  in  Hifitoire  Rotable,  p.  5  ;  Bi- 
bauld.  Whole  and  True  Discovery, 
p.  101. 


W 


I 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


141 


It  never  grows  larger  than  a  moderate-sized  pine,  throws 
out  no  branches,  and  has  a  smooth  trunk,  and  the  top 
tufted,  forming  a  kind  of  cup.  The  leaf  is  three-pointed, 
like  that  of  a  fig,  of  a  dull  green,  and  a  pleasant  odor,  espe- 
cially when  dried ;  the  young  leaves  are  of  the  shape  of  the 
leaf  of  a  pear-tree.  The  bark  is  poUshed,  reddish,  and 
tastes  like  aniseed.  The  woocl  is  light,  and  has  the  aro- 
matic taste  and  smell  of  fennel.  The  root  is  harder  and 
heavier,  and  spreads  on  the  surface  only.  This  tree  grows 
on  the  seashore  and  on  the  mountains,  but  always  on  a 
soil  neither  too  dry  nor  too  moist.  Its  wood  is  hot  to  the 
second  degree,  the  bark  almost  to  the  third.  When  sev- 
eral of  these  trees  grow  togeth  -,  they  give  an  odor  but 
little  different  from  that  of  cinnamon. 

Some  Spaniards  of  St.  Matheo  and  St.  Augustine — that 
is  to  say,  of  Dolphin  and  May  rivers — being  almost  all  at- 
tacked with  fever,  caused  by  improper  food,  and  the  turbid, 
unhealthy  water  which  they  drank,  were  taught  by  some 
Frenchmen  to  use  sassafi'as,  as  they  had  seen  the  Indians 
do.  The^  cut  the  root  into  small  pieces,  and  boiled  them, 
drinking  tlie  decoction  after  fasting  and  at  meals.  It  cured 
them  perfectly.  They  subsequently  tested  it  frequently, 
and  if  they  are  to  be  credited,  there  is  scarcely  any  disease 
that  resists  thiz  drink ;  it  was  their  sole  and  universal  rem- 
edy and  preservative  in  Florida.  But  when  provisions 
failed,  they  did  not  employ  it ;  as  it  caused  a  hunger  more 
insupportable  than  any  disease  could  be.  It  is  added  that 
the  sassafras  is  an  admirable  specific  against  venereal  dis- 
eases ;  but  the  Indians  apparently  resort  more  fi-equently 
to  asquine,  not  only  against  this  terrible  disease,  but  also 
against  all  of  a  contagious  character. 

In  many  diseases,  the  roots,  small  branches,  and  leaves 
of  the  sassafras  are  cut  into  smaU  pieces,  and  a  decoction 
made  in  this  way.  An  ounce  is  steeped  for  a  night  in 
twelve  pounds  of  water,  then  the  whole  is  boiled  at  a  slow 
fire,  till  the  water  loses  one-third.  But  in  this,  regard 
mast  be  had  to  the  patient's  condition,  and  he  must  diet 


i;62. 


SasBaf'as. 


i 


^.■n!aBssiiaaeimts^'^.«M»ji„^ 


148 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


[IS 
A  . 
! 


i«  : 


1563.  himself  strictly  as  long  as  ho  takes  this  remedy.  It  is  even 
'^~j~^'  saiJ  to  be  very  injurious  ir.  inveterate  (liseases,  or  when 
the  patient  is  very  work.  Some,  before  taking  this  reme- 
dy, purge  themselves  thoroughly,  and  this  is  the  safest ; 
but  others  merely  make  this  decoction  their  ordinary 
drink,  mixing  it  with  a  little  wine,  and  do  not  first  employ 
a  purgative. 

Sassafras  has  certainly  always  been  regarded  an  exce)  - 
lent  remedy  for  diseases  of  the  stomach  and  chest,  auil 
generally  for  all  arising  from  cold.  Francis  Ximenez  says 
that  being  in  great  want  of  water,  in  the  bay  of  Ponco  de 
Leon,  he  thought  of  cutting  sassafras  in  small  bits,  and 
steeping  it  in  water  almost  as  salt  as  the  sea ;  after  eight 
days  he  drank  this  water,  and  found  it  quite  sweet.' 
SimpieR,  Among  the  shrubs  of  this  coxmtry,  the  most  remarkable 
is  the  cassine  or  apalachine,  of  which  I  have  spoken  else- 
where ;  and  among  the  simples,  none  is  more  boasted  of 
than  the  apoyomatsi  or  patzisiranda,  which  Francis  Xime- 
nez describes  thus :  Its  leaves  are  like  those  of  the  leek, 
but  longer  and  thinner.  The  stalk  is  a  kind  of  rush,  full 
of  pulp,  knotty,  and  a  cubit  and  a  half  high.  The  flower 
is  small  and  narrow  ;  the  root  thin,  long,  full  of  k^^ots  or 
bosses,  round  and  velvety.  The  Spaniards  call  them 
beads  of  St.  Helen,  and  the  French,  patenotes.  These 
balls,  cut  and  exposed  to  the  sun,  become  very  hard,  black 
without  and  white  within.  They  have  an  aromatic  odor, 
like  galanga.  They  are  dry  and  hot  to  the  third  degree, 
slightly  astringent  and  resinous  ;  yet  are  found  only  in 
moist  and  wet  places." 

The  Indians,  after  bruising  the  leaves  of  this  plant 
between  two  stones,  extract  a  juice  with  which  they  rub 
the  whole  body,  after  bathing,  from  a  conviction  that  it 
strengthens  the  skin  and  gives  it  a  pleasant  o('  /.  The 
Spaniards  learned  from  them  to  reduce  this  eiimple  to  a 
powder,  which  they  take  in  wine  when  they  are  attacked 


■  Ximenez. 


\\ 


lb. 


HI8T0IIT  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


UU 


by  the  stone  and  pain  in  the  kidneys,  caused  by  any  ob-     1562. 
struction.    For  diseases  of  the  chest,  they  pound  it  and   -^  ^  ~^'  j 
take  the  decoction.     They  use  it  in  plasters  to  stanch 
blood,  to  strengthen  the  stomach,  and  to  allay  the  pains 
of  tho  vomb. 

It  .1 '  also  asserted  that  ambergris  is  sometimes  gathered 
all  along  the  coast  of  Florida. 

Mr.  de  Bibaut,  quite  satisfied  with  his  colony,  thought  Rihaut  re- 
only  of  returning  to  France  for  a  re-enforcement.  He  France. 
made  Albert,  one  of  his  captains,  chief  of  the  new  colony, 
and  left  him  as  many  men  as  were  necessary  to  keep  the 
Indians  in  awe.'  He  gave  him  rather  a  small  stock  of  pro- 
visions, but  promised  to  bring  him,  with  all  speed,  a  large 
convoy  of  provisions  and  munitions;  after  which  he  set 
Bail,  and  reached  Dieppe  on  the  20th  of  July.'  The  new 
commander  had  no  soorior  completed  some  remaining 
works,  necossary  to  put  the  place  beyond  insult,  than  he 
set  out  to  explore  the  country,  according  to  the  order 
given  by  the  general.  He  visited  several  paraoustis,  who 
welcomed  him  kindly  ;  and  one  of  them,  named  Andusta, 
invited  him  to  a  singular  feast,  a  description  of  which 
would,  I  thought,  be  road  here  with  pleasure. 

It  was  celebrated  in  honor  of  a  deity  named  Toya.  The  singular 
laws  of  the  country  do  not  permit  strangers  to  appear  at  Ftoridian*. 
it,  and  great  precautions  had  to  be  taken  to  let  the  French 
witnesfi  it  without  being  observed.  Andusta  first  took 
them  to  a  large  round  place,  carefully  cleared  up  by  the 
women.  The  next  morning  at  daybreak,  a  number  of  In- 
dians, painted  in  various  colors,  and  decked  with  plumes, 
sallied  forth  from  the  paraousti's  cabin,  which  fronted  on 
the  square,  around  which  they  drew  up  in  good  order. 
Three  joanas,  as  they  call  the  ministers  of  their  religion, 
then  appeared,  strangely  attired,  having  some  strange  iu- 


'V  ' 


'    ' 


I  ! 


'  Ribaut  left  in  the  fort,  under  Al- 
bert de  la  Rerria,  thirty  men.  Rl- 
bauld,  Wholoand  IVue  Discovery,  pp. 
1 13, 114.    Lescarbot (i.  49)  saya  forty. 


»  Bosanier,  Histoire  Notable,  p. 
40.  They  left  Port  Royal,  June 
11.  Ribauld,  Wliole  and  True  Dis- 
covery, p.  114. 


1,1 


I 


KMBfigligJi 


-44»*^'^ 


144 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1562.     strument  in  their  hands.    They  advanced  to  the  centre  of 
^""^'"•'^  the  square,  where,  after  dancing  a  long  while — turning 
round  and  round,   and  chanting  in  a  very  lup^abrious 
tone — the  whole  assembly  replied  in  the  same  tone. 

This  was  repeated  three  times  ;  then  both  parties  sud- 
denly taking  ai^  impulse,  as  though  some  panic-terror  had 
seized  them,  they  began  to  run  with  all  their  might 
towards  the  woods.  Tt^  women  then  came  and  took  their 
husbandb  hcef  .1  all  day  long  did  nothing  but  lament. 
From  timt  t<>  !)»«  however,  they  seemed  to  be  roused  to 
fury,  nisheu  '  '■  daughters,  gashed  their  arms  with 
muscle-shells,  l.ed  t'^^  ■  hands  with  blood  from  the 
wounds,  and  flung  it  up  i;.to  the  air,  crying  thrice,  He 
Toya !  Andusta,  who  attended  the  French,  whom  he  had 
placed  in  a  little  hut,  where  they  were  not  perceived,  was 
much  hurt  to  see  them  laugh,  but  he  did  not  show  his 
feelings  then. 

The  men  remained  two  days  and  nights  in  the  woods, 
and  returning  to  the  place  whence  they  started,  they 
danced  and  sang  anew,  but  in  a  more  cheerful  tone.  They 
then  played  a  number  of  rather  amusing  tricks  ;  and  the 
whole  closed  with  a  great  feast,  where  all  ate  to  excess,  the 
chief  actors  having  tasted  nothing  since  the  beginning  of 
the  feast.  One  of  them  afterwards  related  to  the  French, 
that  during  the  two  days  that  he  had  passed  in  the  woods, 
the  joanas  had  invoked  the  god  Toyp,,  who  had  appeared 
to  them ;  that  they  had  put  to  him  several  questions,  which 
he  had  answered ;  but  that  they  did  not  dare  to  reveal 
any  thing  that  they  heard,  for  fear  of  cbawing  upon  them- 
selves the  indignation  of  the  joanas.' 
Uiscondoct  The  expeditions  made  by  Captain  Albert  may  have 
"Albert."^  been  of  some  utility,  but  there  was  something  far  more 
pressing,  of  which  he  never  thought.  This  was  to  sow  the 
ground,  so  as  to  have  wherewith  to  fill  his  stores.  Admiral 
Coligni   had    enjoined   nothing  so  earnestly  ;    biit  men 


'  Lauiionniere,  in  Higtoire  Notable,  pp.  41-7. 


m 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


146 


thought  only  of  hunting  for  mines,  and  would  not  give 
up  the  idea  that  there  could  be  a  single  district  in 
America  where  there  were  none.  As  long  as  the  pro- 
visions brought  fiom  France  lasted,  and  they  had  powder 
and  lead,  they  lived  well.  Fishing  was  also,  for  a  time,  a 
great  resource.  But  all  this  failed  them  almost  simul- 
taneously, as  the  fish  frequent  the  rivers  only  at  certain 
seasons. 

They  then  had  recourse  to  the  natives,  who  did  their 
best,  as  they  were  well  treated  ;  but  this  source  was  soon 
exhausted.  An  Indian's  surplus  is  a  small  affair,  especially 
for  people  strangers  to  the  sobriety  of  the  tribes,  and  still 
Jess  to  the  power  of  going,  as  they  do,  for  some  days 
without  food.  To  crown  their  misfortunes,  a  fire  bi  -  v 
out  in  the  fort,  and  in  a  few  hours  consumed  it,  witb  Jl 
the  stores,  just  after  they  had  laid  up  a  large  quan*  f  of 
Indian  com,  for  which  they  had  been  obhged  '■:■  gc  a 
great  distance.'  This  loss  was,  nevertheless,  lep,  ^'TrKl 
quite  promptly ;  but  a  most  tragic  accident  plmiged  wLe 
colony  in  disorder,  and  soon  caused  its  entire  n 

The  commander  of  Charles  Fort  was  an  entbipiising 
man,  and  not  absolutely  devoid  of  ability ;  but  he  was 
brutal  to  ferocity,  and  did  not  even  observe  the  restraints 
of  civilized  intercoiu'se.  While  a  subaltern,  this  defect 
had  not  been  apparent :  authority  put  it  in  full  light,  or 
removed  the  check  which  restrained  him.  He  ptmished 
the  sUghtest  fault,  and  excessively.  He  hung  with  his  own 
hands  a  soldier  who  had  not  deserved  death  ;  he  deprived 
another  of  his  arms  as  unjustly,  then  exiled  him,  and  it 
was  believed  that  he  intended  he  should  die  of  hunger  and 
hardship.  He  was  constantly  menacing  the  punishment 
of  death,  and  no  one  could  displease  him  and  be  sure  of 
his  Mfe.  His  very  language,  it  was  said,  would  make  a 
man's  hair  stand  on  end. 

He  at  last  exhausted  the  patience  of  the  most  moderate; 

'  Histoire  Notable,  pp.  46-50 ;  Lescarbot  (1618),  p.  57, 
Vol.  I.— 10 


i;62. 


/ 


146 


HISTORY  OF  NBW  FRANCB. 


i$6i. 


Ha  in  killed 

b^  Ills  own 

people. 


Eitremily 
to  which  the 
colony  U  re- 
duced. 


All  embark 

to  return  to 

France. 


a  conspiracy  was  formed,  and  he  was  dispatched  the  more 
easily  that  he  was  entirely  unguarded,  although  he  could 
not  but  know  that  ho  was  feared  and  hated  by  all.  The 
next  thought  was  to  appoint  his  successor,  and  the  selec- 
tion made  was  wiser  than  might  have  been  expected  from 
men  whose  hands  were  still  reeking  with  their  com- 
mander's blood.  They  put  at  the  head  of  aflfairs  a  very 
worthy  man,  named  Nicholas  Barre,  who  by  his  prudence 
and  adtkess  soon  restored  peace  and  order  in  the  colony.' 

Meanwlile,  Mr,  do  Ribaut  did  not  return,  and  they 
beheld  themselves  on  the  verge  of  experiencing  all  the 
horrors  of  famine.  They  were  at  the  discretion  of  the 
Indians  in  regard  to  food,  and  the  new  commander  saw 
clearly  that  this  could  not  last  long  without  the  risk  of 
meeting,  at  the  hands  of  these  savages,  something  worse 
than  famine.  Full  of  these  distressing  thoughts,  he  assem- 
bled his  council,  laid  before  them  the  extremity  to  which 
they  would  soon  be  reduced  and  what  was  to  be  feared  in 
future.  This  stated,  there  was  but  one  voice  :  all  agi-eed 
that  without  losmg  a  day,  they  should  build  a  vessel,  and 
as  soon  as  it  was  ready,  re-embark  for  France,  if  succoi 
did  not  arrive. 

But  how  accomplish  this  design,  without  shipwrights, 
sails,  ropes,  or  rigging  ?  Necessity,  when  extreme,  sees 
no  difficulties,  and  renders  easy  what  under  other  cir- 
cumstances would  appear  impossible.  All  set  to  work. 
Men  who,  all  their  life,  had  never  handled  axe  or  tool 
of  any  kind,  found  themselves  become  carpenters  and 
blacksmiths.  Moss,  and  a  kind  of  hemp  which  grows 
on  the  trees  in  a  great  part  of  Florida,  served  to  caulk  the 
ship  ;  every  one  gave  his  shirts  and  sheets  to  make  sails  ; 
the  ropes  were  made  with  the  bark  of  trees;  and  in  a 
short  time  the  vessel  was  finished  and  launched.  A  little 
of  this  industry  and  this  ardor,  better  applied,  would  have 
enabled  them  to  sulifjist  for  a  time ;  but  they  were  dis- 


'  Htatoire  Notfible,  pp.  (53,  54. 


Mi 


BUB"-' 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


w 


\\ 


gnsted  with  Florida,  and  would  perhaps  hare  regretted  to 
Bee  the  succor  arrive  whicli  thoy  had  so  long  anxiously 
awaited.  It  needs  but  little  to  awaken  in  the  French 
breast  that  deep  affection  for  his  native  land  which  he 
preserves  under  every  vicissitude. 

The  ship  equipped,  they  did  not  defer  their  departure  a 
single  day  ;  and  with  the  same  confidence  which  had  made 
them  undertake  the  construction  of  a  vessel  without  work- 
men or  materials,  they  plimged  unreflectingly  into  aU  the 
dangers  which  they  could  not  but  encounter  on  a  vessel  so 
built  and  equipped,  and  now  manned  by  soldiers.  The 
strangest  feature  was,  that  the  only  real  evil  which  they 
sought  to  avoid,  was  the  only  one  against  which  they 
neglected  to  provide.  Our  adventurers  had  not  got  far 
out  to  sea,  when  an  obstinate  calm  arrested  them.  The 
provisions  which  they  had  taken  on  board  were  soon  con- 
sumed, and  they  were  at  last  reduced  to  a  daily  allowance 
of  twelve  or  fifteen  grains  of  maize  apiece. 

Even  this  scanty  allowance  did  not  last  long.     Their 


I  $62. 


They  a«t 
)rt 


shoes,  and  every  thing  of  leather  on  board,  was  devoured,  ''"number? 
Fresh  water  also  failed.  Some  drank  sea-water,  and  died. 
The  vessel  leaked  everywhere,  and  the  crew,  pei^ishing 
with  hunger,  were  in  no  condition  to  stop  it.  At  last  the 
wretched  men,  with  no  food  or  drink  of  any  kind,  expect- 
ing to  see  their  craft  go  down  at  any  moment,  lost  heart 
entirely,  and  abandoned  themselves  to  their  sad  fate. 

In  this  despair,  some  one  said  that  one  might,  by  the 
sacrifice  of  his  own  Hfe,  save  the  rest ;  and  this  strange 
proposal  was  not  only  not  rejected  with  horror,  but  was 
highly  applauded.  They  had  almost  agreed  to  draw  lots 
for  the  victim,  when  Lachan,'  the  soldier  whom  Captain 
Albert  had  driven  out,  after  depriving  him  of  his  arms, 
declared  his  willingness  to  anticipate  the  death  he  deemed 
inevitable,  if  it  could  for  some  days  prolong  the  life  of  his 

1  Lachere.  See  Laudonniere,  In  account  of  this  voyage  generally,  Bee 
Ilistolre  Notable,  p.  58.     For  the    pp.  54-9.    r.«8carbot  (1611),  p.  60. 


- 


.1 


J  iMiiimi  un 


mk 


148 


HI8T0RT  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1562, 


Whtt  be- 

CMD*  of 

tbem. 


I'i 

i 

m 

n 

i 

M 

If 

TiF 

^ 

■■\i    S:  I 

i    i    J  i 

Ml 

'/ 

New  expe- 
ditioD  to 
riorldk. 


companions.  He  was  taken  at  bia  word,  and  kiUud  on  the 
spot,  without  the  slightest  resistance  on  his  part.  Not  a 
drop  uf  his  blood  was  lost :  all  (kank  it  with  avidity.  Tho 
body  was  cut  to  pieces,  and  each  one  had  his  share. 

This  first  step  taken,  others  would  apparently,  willingly 
or  otherwise,  have  met  the  fate  of  Lachau,  had  they  not 
soon  after  discovered  laud,  and  almost  at  the  same  time  a 
vessel  approaching.  li  proved  to  be  an  English  vessel, 
having  on  board  one  of  tho  Frenchmen  who  had  left 
Florida  with  Mr.  de  Ribaut.  This  man  informed  them 
that  the  civil  war,  which  was  rekindled  more  furiously  than 
ever  soon  after  tliey  left  France,  had  caused  Admiral  de 
Coligni  to  abandon  them  as  he  had  done  ;  but  that  peace 
had  no  sooner  been  concluded,  than  the  admiral  took  all 
necessary  steps  to  succor  the  colony,  whose  success  he 
had  so  much  at  heart. 

It  was,  in  fact,  the  first  matter  laid  before  the  king  by 
the  admiral,  when  he  was  permitted  to  reappear  at  court ; 
and  Charles  IX.  gave  him  three  ships,'  well  equipped  and 
supplied  with  all  necessary  to  revictual  Charles  Fort.  He 
confided  the  command  to  Ben4  de  Laudonniere,'  a  good 
naval  officer,  who  had  also  served  with  distinction  on  land. 
He  was,  moreover,  acquainted  with  Florida,  having  accom- 
panied Mr.  de  Bibaut  two  years  before.  He  was  supplied 
with  artisans  skilled  in  every  trade  that  coxxld  be  of  any 
use  in  a  new  colony.  Several  young  men  of  noble  families 
and  gentlemen  volunteered  to  go  at  their  own  expense, 
and  detachments  of  soldiers  were  selected  from  old  corps 
and  sent.    The  admiral  took  especial  care  to  have  no 


•  The  Ysabeau,  of  Honfleur,  120 
tone,  John  Lucas  raptain  ;  Le  Petit 
Breton,  of  Dleppt-,  100  tong,  Vas- 
eeor  captain  ;  the  Faulcon,  GO  tons, 
Peter  Merchant  captain.  Histoire 
Notable,  p.  61.  Copie  d'une  Lettre 
Teumt  de  la  Floride  in  Terraux,  p. 
284. 

«  Laudonniere  in  Histoire  Notable, 


p.  61.  Charlevoix  says  Landonniere 
or  Landonniere;  but  Qameau,  in 
bis  Histoire  da  Canada  (8d  ed.,  i. 
30,  n.),  states,  on  the  authority  of 
Leon  Ou^rin  (Histoire  Maritime  de 
France,  vol.  il.),  that  the  true  name 
is  Ren^  de  Goulalnede  Laudouini^rev 
Laudouiniere  being  a  fief  of  the  Qou- 
laine  family. 


Ifj 


UISTOFtY  OK  NEW   FHANCB. 


140 


Catholic  in  the  oxptMlition.    Tho  king  gave  fifty  thouauml     i$64. 
orovrnn  to  Laudonuicre,  and  Jacques  1«  Moyno  de  MorgneB,'  ^— ^r-~-' 
who  waH  in  thiH  advoiituro,  Ih  apparently  uiiHtaken  in  put- 
ting thiH  prvHcut  of  Charles  IX.  at  one  hundred  thousand 
crowns.      This   is  not  the  only  point  in   this  voyager's 
relation  whore  he  disagrees  with  Mr.  do  Laudonniere. 

The  three  ships  sailod  from  Havre-do-Orace  on  the  22d  The  Frenoh 
of  April,  1564,"  two  of  thorn  bearing  as  pilots  the  brothers  Fiori'u. 
Michael  and  Thomas  lo  Vasseur,  two  of  the  most  experi- 
enced navigators  of  France  at  that  day."  Laudonniere 
took  the  route  of  the  Canary  Isles,  coasted  by  most  of  the 
lesser  Antilles,  and  on  tho  22d  of  June  reached  Florida.* 
Some  days  after,  he  cast  anchor  at  the  mouth  of  Dolphin 
River,  which  he  entered  in  his  longboat,  but  loft  it,  to 
the  great  regret  of  the  Indians,  who  made  every  eflfort  to 
retain  him.  Thence  he  passed  to  May  River,  and  found  at 
his  landing  the  paraousti  Saturiova,*  with  a  great  number 
of  his  subjects. 

Most  of  thorn  recognized  him  ;  and  they  all,  after  mani-  Veneration 
festing  great  friendship,  led  him  to  the  spot  where  Mr.  de  "dianB  for 
Ribaut  had  set  up  the  arms  of  France  on  a  stone  column.  '  France." 
These  savages  had  imagined  that  there  was  something 
mysterious  in  this  monument ;   and  in  this  conviction, 
they  had  gone  there  to  make  offerings,  which  in  fact  still 
surroimded  it.   They  paid  it,  in  the  presence  of  the  French, 
a  respect  which  had  all  the  appearance  of  religious  wor- 
ship.*   As  Laudonniere  then  remained  at  May  River,  he 
was  there  apparently  informed  of  the  abandon];aent  of 
Charles  Fort,  which  he  seems  not  to  have  known  at  his 
departure  from  France. 


'  Le  Mojne  de  Morgues,  Brevis 
Narratio  eorum  quae  in  Florida, 
Americffi  provincia  Oallis  acciderimt 
(de  Bry,  8d  Navlg.  Frankfort,  1591), 
p.  6 

•  .distoire  Notable,  p.  62  ;  Le 
Mo]rDi»',  Brevis  Narratio,  p.  6. 

•  Le  Moyne,  Brevis  Narratio,  p.  6. 


*  Histoire  Notable,  p.  67 ;  L« 
Moyne,  Brevis  Narratio,  p.  7. 

'  This  name  is  given  by  Laudon- 
niere, Satouriona  (Histoire  Notable, 
p.  70).  The  Spanish  write  Saturiba. 
The  true  French  form  may  be  Sa- 
touri-oua. 

•  Histoire  Notable,  pp.  69,  70. 


11 


n 


160 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1564.         Be  that  as  it  may,  he  paid  a  visit  to  Saturiova  the  day 

■-^t"^  '  after  his  arrival,  and  informed  him  of  his  desire  to  see 
Laudon-    the  country  watered  by  the  river.      The  paraousti  con- 

piores  the  sonted,  on  condition  that  the  voyage  should  not  be  long. 

Kiver  '&ay.  A-  party  of  Indians  also  accompanied  the  French  for  some 
time,  marching  along  both  banks  of  the  river,  and  inces- 
santly repeating  the  word  "friend."  Laudonniere  did  not 
go  very  far ;  and  pitching  his  tent  at  the  foot  of  a  small 
hill;  ordered  his  lieutenant,  the  Sieur  d'Ottigny,  and  his 
ensign,  the  Chevalier  d'Erlach,'  to  ascend  the  river  for 
several  days. 

Bo»uty  of  These  two  officers  soon  met  Inaians  who  did  not  depend 
e  oonn  ry.  ^^  gatui'iova,  and  who,  after  recovering  from  the  fright 
caused  by  the  first  sight  of  the  French,  took  them  to  an 
old  paraousti,  whom  they  declared  to  be  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  old,  and  the  father  of  six  generations — which 
was  very  little  for  that  advanced  age.  Thiii  man  was,  in 
fact,  very  decrepit  and  blind,  with  only  a  livid  skin  clinging 
to  his  bones.'  One  said  to  be  his  son  appeared  to  be,  at 
most,  a  man  of  sixty. 

D'Ottigny  and  d'Erlach  did  not  push  their  explorations 
beyond  this  point,  and  returned  to  the  place  v.here  they 
had  left  their  commander.  As  soon  as  they  joined  him,  all 
together  ascended  the  hill  at  the  foot  of  which  Mr.  de  Lau- 
donniere had  encamped,  and  from  it  they  beheld  a  most 
agreeable  country.  The  river,  of  fine  width  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach,  watered  great  plains,  which  showed  every 
appearance  of  fertiUty.  These  plains  were  skirted  by 
woods,  the  extremely  tall  trees  being  interwoven  with 
vines,  laurels,  lentisks,  which  embalmed  the  air  with  odors. 
This  charming  view  was  bounded  on  one  side  by  the  sea, 
and  on  the  other  by  a  chain  of  moimtains,  which  the  In- 
dians long  persuaded  the  French  to  be  rich  in  mines.* 


'  The  documents  have  It  d'Ar- 
lach,  an  effect  of  mispronunciation. 
This  gentleman  was  a  SwiBS,  and 
there  is  no  house   in   Switzerland 


Ijctter  known  than  d'Erlach. — Gfiarl. 

'  Histoire  Notable,  pp.  72-6. 

•  lb.,  p.  76.    The  hill  is  St.  Jolin's 
Bluff 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE, 


161 


Men  readily  believe  what  they  desire,  and  the  slightest 
indications  are  an  assurance.  All  the  new  colonists  had 
come  to  Florida  solely  to  seek  gold  and  silver ;  and  while 
the  spirit  of  libertinism  and  sloth  made  it  insupportable 
to  cultivate  the  earth,  which  would  soon  have  repaid  them 
their  sowing  a  himdredfold,  they  counted  as  nothing  the 
hardships  and  danger  to  be  met  in  their  distant  search  for 
what  they  had  no  assurance  of  finding.  It  was  to  be  the 
more  regretted  that  by  this  frivolous  allurement,  they 
allowed  themselves  to  be  foolishly  involved  in  an  affair 
capable  of  smothering  the  rising  colony  in  its  very  cradle. 
Laudonniere,  on  returning  to  Saturiova,  asked  him 
whence  came  a  piece  of  silver,  which  the  chief  had  pre- 
sented him  on  his  arrival.  The  latter,  who  had  his  own 
designs,  and  already  saw  the  foible  of  the  French,  an- 
swered that  it  came  from  quite  a  distant  country,  and  that 
Timagoa  the  paraousti,  to  whom  the  country  belonged, 
was  his  mortal  enemy.  Laudonniere  fell  into  the  snare 
laid  by  the  crafty  paraousti,  and  offered  to  attend  him 
with  a  part  of  his  force,  if  he  chose  to  make  war  on  his 
enemy.  Saturiova  took  him  ut  his  word,  and  assured  him, 
on  his  part,  that  after  Timagoa's  defeat,  if  he  was  seconded 
by  the  French,  he  would  enable  him  to  find  as  much  gold 
and  silver  as  he  wanted.' 

Notwithstanding  these  reciprocal  promises,  Laudonniere 
either  repenting  his  hasty  engagement,  or  wishing  to  see 
whether  he  could  not  make  himself  master  of  the  mines. 


1564. 


The  French 
allow  them- 
selves to  be 
persuaded 
that  there 
are  mines  in 
Florida. 


They  unad- 
visedly en- 
gage in  war. 


They  con- 
tinue to  ex- 
plore the 
country. 


'  HiBt.  Notable,  p.  77.  The  hos- 
tile tribe  in  given  by  Laudonniere  as 
Thiinogona.  Here  too,  apparently,  n 
and  u  are  confounded,  and  it  should 
be  Thimogoua.  It  is,  in  &ct,  some- 
times given  (see  p.  104)  Thimogoa. 
It  is  the  extensive  tribe  called  by 
the  Spaniards,  Timuqua,  and  rome- 
times  Tinqua,  the  second  syllrble 
being  evidently  obscure.  The  Timu- 
qua lang^uage  is  the  first  of  those  in 


the  United  States  in  which  books 
were  printed.  (See  Historical  Mag- 
azine, ii.  p.  1 ;  Ludwig,  Literature 
of  American  Aboriginid  Languages, 
p.  242.)  They  extended  from  the 
Georgian  coast  down  to  Sta.  Lucia, 
and  west  to  the  Apalachep.  Besides 
the  ancient  works,  a  petition  to  the 
king  of  Spain  from  the  Timuqua 
chiefs  has  recently  been  printed  by 
Buckingham  Smith. 


162 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1564. 


Delibera- 
tion on  the 
•ite  of  tlie 
oolouy. 


Fort  Car- 
oline built, 
Krrora  of 

geogra- 
phoni  and 
uistoriana 

on  this 

point. 


without  being  under  obligation  to  the  Indians,  re-embarked 
the  next  day  wit.h  all  his  force,  and  leaving  May  River, 
entered  first  the  Seine,  then  the  Somme,  where  he  met  the 
paraousti  of  that  canton,  with  his  wife  and  four  grown 
daughters,  who  did  not  seem  to  him  very  ill-made  for  Flo- 
ridian  girls.  The  paraousti  received  him  perfectly  well, 
and  among  other  presents,  gave  him  a  small  ball  of  silver. 
He  invited  the  French  to  spend  some  days  with  him,  but 
Laudonniere  excused  himself,  and  re-embarked  at  once.' 

He  then  held  a  council  to  deUberate  on  the  course 
to  be  adopted.  He  first  stated  his  positive  orders  to 
make  a  solid  settlement,  and  added,  that  the  only  ques- 
tion was  a  choice  of  place.  He  then  represented  that 
Cap  Frangois  was  apparently  too  low  and  wet  a  country  ; 
that  ^.liarles  Fort  had  been  built  in  a  very  convenient 
port,  but  that  he  did  not  believe  the  ground  so  fertile  as 
that  of  May  River  ;  and  that,  moreover,  as  far  as  he  could 
judge,  this  river  was  the  easiest  and  shortest  route  to  the 
mines  spoken  of.  In  the  disposition  in  which  all  were, 
this  last  reason  was  conclasive ;  every  one  was  of  the  com- 
mander's advice.  They  tiirned  about  at  ouce,  and  the 
next  day,  the  29th  of  June,  the  three  ships  were  at  an  early 
hour  at  the  mouth  of  May  River.' 

The  next  day  the  fort  was  laid  out  in  a  very  advanta- 
geous spot,  about  two  leagues  from  the  sea  :'  all  labored 
with  extreme  diligence,  and  it  was  named  Caroline.  This 
name  has  misled  many  authors,  who  have  sui)po8ed  that 
it  was  the  origin  of  that  now  borne  by  one  of  the  finest  Eug- 


m 


■  Laudonniere  in  Basanier,  His- 
toire  Notable,  pp.  78,  79.  The  ciiief 
gave  them  several  silver  balls. 

«  HlBtolre  Notable,  pp.  80,  81. 
"  Pour  DOS  premieres  annees  il  nous 
estoit  beaucoup  plus  nt^cessaire  d'ha- 
b'ter  et.  lieui  abondans  en  vivres, 
que  non  pas  cs  ports  gaillarda, 
beaux,  profouds  et  plaisans  a  la 
voue."    Laudonniere. 


'  A  modem  Spanish  author  (Bar- 
cia,  Elosayo  Cronologico,  442,  472) 
confounds  Caroline  with  Charles 
Fort,  or  rather  pretends  that  Ribaut'a 
fort  was  called  Caroline,  and  Lau- 
donniere's  Charles  Fort. — Charkv. 
Fort  Caroline  war  on  the  St.  John's, 
and  according  to  Coppie  d'une  lettro 
venant  de  la  Floridc  (Paris,  1505), 
"  up  the  riviT,  sis  h-agues  disuint 
firom  the  8<!a.'' 


m 


mSTORT  OP  NEW  FRANCE.  153 

lisli  col  lilies  in  North  America.  Some  have  even  supposed  1 564. 
that  what  was  previously  styled  French  Florida  was  now  "-^v^^ 
commonly  called  Caroline  ;  but  this  is  not  so.  The  Caro- 
lina of  to-day  is  so  little  indebted  for  its  name  to  Charles 
IX.,  king  of  France,  that  it  does  not  include  all  that  we 
called  French  Florida,  or  New  France,  as  I  have  already 
remarked,  and  Laudonniere's  Fort  Caroline  is  now  in 
Spanish  Florida,  as  we  shall  soon  see. 

This  fortress  was  of  triangular  form, — the  western  or  Description 
land  side  was  defended  by  a  ditch,  bordered  by  a  parapet  of 
turf  nine  feet  high  ;  two  others  had  a  gabioned  palisade ; 
and  at  the  angle  which  looked  out  to  the  sea  was  a  bastion 
containing  the  magazine.  The  whole  was  constructed  of 
fascines  covered  with  sods.  The  interior  was  a  parade 
eighteen  paces  square,  with  a  high  house  facing  it  on 
the  north,  soon  prostrated  by  the  winds,  and  on  the  south 
a  guard-house.  The  oven  was  set  vnthout  the  inclosure 
of  the  citadel,  to  avoid  the  fires  which  the  frequent  and 
"dolent  winds  of  that  coast  would  make  the  more  difficult 
to  check,  as  the  barracks,  where  all  Uved,  were  covered 
merely  with  palm-leaves.' 

Mr.  de  Laudonniere,  in  the  accounts  of  what  passed  be- 
fore his  eyes  in  Florida,  gives  high  praise  to  Satvriova, 
whose  subjects,  he  says,  aided  him  greatly  in  the  works 
which  he  found  it  necessary  to  erect.  De  Morgues,  on  the 
contrary,  represents  this  paraousti  as  taking  umbrage 
greatly  at  having  a  fortress  built  on  his  land,  and  as  greatly 
shocked  at  the  haughty  and  independent  attitude  of  the 
French  commander  towards  him.  In  this  diversity  of  opin- 
ion there  is  nothing  surprising  ;  do  we  not  daily  see  per- 
sons living  together  think  differently  about  those  with 
whom  they  have  to  deal — some  to  distrast,  others  to  con- 
fide implicitly  in  them?     Our  only  conclusion  from  the 


'  Laudonniere  in  Uistoire  Nota-  plan  of  the  fort  la  Le  Moyne,  pi.  x., 
ble,  p.  84.  Le  Mo^ne  de  Morgues,  and  in  the  Copie  d'one  lettre,  in 
Brevis  Narratio,  p.  8.    There  ifl  a    Ternaux'a  Recueil. 


M 


'< 


164 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1564.     account  of  the  two  historians  is,  that  the  Indian  chief 
'""■Y^^  maintained  with  the  French  leader  a  course  which  the 
latter  took  as  a  mark  of  sincere  friendship,  but  which  those 
who  scrutinized  more  closely  attributed  to  fear  or  policy.' 
Conduct  of     It   is  certain   that   the  Indians  did  not  discontinue 
towards'the  bringing  to  Caroline  Indian  meal,  dried  meat,  a  kind  of 
reno  1.    ]^^^^  which  these  nations  eat  as  a  delicacy,  roots,  some 
medicinal  and  others  very  nourishing ;  sometLiies  gold, 
silver,  pearls,  precious  stones ;  and  that  Mr.  de  Laudonniere 
was  obliged  to  order  his  people,  under  pain  of  death,  to 
carry  to  the  public  store  aU  the  metals,  pearls,  and  stones 
received  from  the  natives.    But  the  supply  of  these  treas- 
ures soon  failed. 


■    Charlevoix    is    in    error.      Le  p.  84.    Saturiva  Bubeequently,  and 

Moyne  de  Morgues,  Brevis  Narratio,  not  unreasonably,  took   offence  at 

p.  8,  represents  them  as  aiding  to  Landonniere's  reluctance    to    keep 

build  tho  fort,  as  Laudonniere  does,  his  prumise  of  aiding  him  in  war. 


\    . 


I      i 


i'l 


BOOK     II. 


1 


I 


il 


-'  4  vk 


I 


b 


y 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  PRANCE. 


157 


BOOK  II. 

As  soon  aB  the  fortress  was  finished,  Mr.  de  Laudon-  1564. 
niere  sent  back  to  France  one  of  his  vessels  to  soUcit 
a  re-enforcement,  and  began  to  build,  with  aU  expedition, 
two  vessels,  with  a  view  of  sending  them  up  the  neigh- 
boring rivers  for  provisions.'  He  then  resumed  liis 
project  of  exploring  May  River,  sending  d'Ottignj  up 
with  instructions  to  penetrate  as  far  into  the  country  as  he 
could,  especially  to  examine  carefully  that  ruled  by  Tima- 
goa,  and  to  neglect  no  means  of  discovering  the  truth  of 
Saturiova's  reports  with  regard  to  mines. 

D'Ottigny  discharged  his  commission  '-'^r  :*;ly ;  he  eu-  New  du- 
tered  Timagoa,  for  in  that  part  of  Floriu  ,  -rory  uanton 
bears  the  same  name  as  the  chief,'  and  it  is  apjiarently 
the  chief  who  assumes  that  of  his  Uttle  State.  There  he 
found  neither  gold  nor  silver ;  but  one  of  his  soldiers,  sent 
to  explore,  brought  back  about  six  pounds  of  silver,'  and 
great  hopes  of  obtaining  much  more  from  a  very  distant 
country. 

Thus  the  mines  seemed  to  recede  as  they  thought  they 
neared  them, — like  the  fabled  spectres,  which  weary  out 


coveriM. 


'  He  Bent  back  the  Ysabeau  of 
Honfleur,  as  scnn  as  Iih  began  to 
build.  Le  Moyne  de  Morgues,  Bre- 
vis  Narratio,  pp.  7-9  ;  Laudonniere 
in  Basanier,  Histoiro  Notable,  p.  07. 
The  letter  sent  to  Rouen,  and  pub- 
lished in  1565,  wtnt  evidently  by 
tbis  veaael,  although  the  name  is 
not  given.    It  is  reprinted  by  Ter- 


naux  in  his  Recnoil  de  Pieces  sur 
la  Floride,  p.  233. 

^  Qajcilaso  de  la  Vega  says  the 
same  of  the  j)art  where  «ie  Soto 
landed. — Chdirlemiix .  It  would  seem, 
however,  to  be  really  the  name  of 
the  tribe.    See  note,  p.  151. 

'  Laudonniere  in  BManier.  His- 
toire  Notable,  p.  89. 


ii.:i:'^ 


ij 


't'H  ' 


).*3m;00' 


lii 


m 


'   '>! 


108  HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 

1564.  those  who  pursue  them,  and  vanish  as  they  think  they  lay 
their  hands  upon  them.  Our  adventurers  were  not,  how- 
ever, discouraged,  and  were  ever  buoyed  up  by  chimerical 
hopes,  which  prevented  their  obtaining,  at  far  less  cost, 
real  advantages  more  precious  than  mines.  They  saw  at 
last,  although  somewhat  too  late,  that  the  Indians  sought 
merely  to  delude  thf>m,  while  they  gradually  stripped  them 
of  their  goods.  The  savages  did  not  even  agree  with  each 
other  as  to  the  points  where  these  mines  were  to  be  found. 
Most,  however,  declared  that  there  was  yellow  iron  in  the 
mountains  of  Apalache.  The  same  had  been  told  the  Span- 
iards, and  it  is  pretended  that  copper  has  been  really 
found  there  ;  and  even  some  grains  of  gold  among  the  sand 
washed  down  by  the  mountain  torrents.' 

During  the  voyage  just  mentioned,  one  of  the  brothers 
le  Vasseur  had  a  singular  adventure.  As  he  was  return- 
ing from  Timagoa,  he  stopped  with  a  paraousti,  at  war 
with  that  nation,  who  asked  him  whether  he  had  destroyed 
his  enemies.  The  pilot  replied  that  he  had  killed  some, 
and  that  if  the  chief  had  not  been  warned  of  his  march, 
and  secured  himself  in  the  woods,  not  one  would  have  es- 
caped. There  was  not  a  word  of  truth  in  what  he  said ; 
but  he  imagined  that  if  he  spoke  otherwise,  the  paraousti 
would  have  taken  him  for  an  ally  of  Timagoa,  and  given 
him  trouble.  The  paraousti  then  asked  him  whether  he 
>}  d  taken  any  scalps.  No,  replied  le  Vasseur,  it  is  not  a 
custom  with  us  Frenchmen. 

Then  one  of  the  paraousti's  people  took  an  arrow,  which 
had  been  stuck  in  the  ground,  and  struck  one  of  his  com- 
rades who  was  sitting  a  little  way  o£F,  crying,  "  Hiov"  then 
replaced  the  arrow  where  it  had  been ;  but  seizing  it  a  mo- 
ment after,  again  pierced  the  same  Indian  with  it,  repeat- 
ing the  same  cry.  The  wounded  man  at  once  stretched 
himself  out  at  full  length  on  the  ground,  apparently  with- 


■  The  gold  region  of  North  Caro-    bnt  it  was  unknown  in  Charlevoix's 
Una  explains  all  the  early  alloeions,    day. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


159 


1564. 


out  life  or  m3tion,  his  logs  and  body  stiff.  In  an  instant 
bis  brothers,  sisters,  aud  mother  came  to  weep  over  him. 
During  all  this  comedy  the  paraousti  aud  most  of  his  reti- 
nue drank  deep  of  apalachiue,  without  uttering  a  word,  or 
seeming  to  pay  any  attention  to  what  was  going  on.  Le 
Vasseur,  astonished  at  what  he  saw,  approached  the  chief, 
and  asked  what  it  meant,  but  he  answered  only  by  repeat- 
ing in  a  vr-ry  languishing  voice,  "  Timagoa,  Timagoa." 

The  pilot  appUed  to  another  Indian,  to  be  better  in- 
form<^d ;  but  this  savage,  after  giving  him  the  same  reply, 
begged  him  not  to  ask  any  more.  Meanwhile,  the  wounded 
man  had  been  carried  off,  and  le  Vasseur  was  curious  to 
see  what  they  were  doing  with  him.  He  found  him  sur- 
rounded by  a  crowd  of  Indians,  of  both  soxes,  weeping, 
and  he  saw  some  girls  warming  a  kind  of  moss,  with  which 
they  rubbed  the  wounded  man's  body.  At  last,  after  some 
time,  he  seemed  to  revive ;  in  fact  he  had  not  been  much 
hurt.  The  paraousti  then  told  the  pilot,  that  when  a  war- 
party  returned  without  a  .scalp,  the  dearest  child  of  the 
chief  had  to  be  stnick  in  this  way  with  arms  such  as  the 
enemy  used,  in  order  to  renew  and  impress  more  deeply 
on  theii'  minds  the  injuries  received  fi-om  them,  and  to  ani- 
mate them  more  and  more  to  vengeance.' 

At  this  juncture,  Saturiova  reminded  Laudonniere  of  his    Laudon- 
promise  to  be  a  friend  of  his  friends,  and  an  enemy  of  his  fuses  to  ao- 
enemies,  and  asked  whether  he  was  inclined  to  accompany  saturU)va 
him  on  an  expedition  in  which  he  had  just  engaged  with    '"  *"''■ 
his  vassals,  against  Timagoa.      The  commander  repUed 
that  he  had  not  forgotten  his  promise,  but  that  his  pres- 
ence was  still  necessary  in  his  fort ;  that,  moreover,  he  had 
not  provisions  enough  for  such  a  march,  but  that  if  he  would 
wait  two  months  he  would  march  with  him  at  the  head  of 
his  soldiers.     This  delay  did  not  suit  the  paraousti,  whose 
troops  were  already  assembled  ;  he  imagined  even  that  the 
French  merely  sought  to  gain  time,  in  order  to  break  their 

'  Laudonniere  in  Basanier,  Hiatoire  Notable,  pp.  95-7. 


i 


i-tiS-itr.-*';.-.  .r- 


160 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


CeromoDy 
on  prepar- 

ifif  to 

msrch  to 

wnr. 


1564.  word  with  impunity,  but  he  revealed  nothing  then.  Ho 
-"^""^  set  out  with  his  army,  which,  with  the  auxiliary  troops, 
was  at  moat  five  hundred  men  ;  a  force  that  gives  no  ex- 
alted idea  of  this  pretended  monarch,  styled  in  some  of 
our  relations  the  great  king  Saturiova.' 

Before  taking  the  field,  he  drew  up  his  force  in  lino 
of  battle,  and  advancing  to  the  bonk  of  the  river,  halted 
to  perform  a  ceremony,  which  the  religion  of  these  na- 
tions makes  indispensable.  He  began  by  sitting  on  the 
ground,  his  vassals  assuming  the  same  position  around 
him.  He  then  asked  for  water,  which  was  brought  to 
him  in  a  vessel.  As  soon  as  he  took  it  into  his  hand, 
he  seemed  to  enter  into  an  agitation  like  that  of  the  py- 
thonesses and  sibyls,  as  described  by  the  poets.  His  eyes 
rolled  fearfully  in  his  head,  and  he  turned  them  incessantly 
towards  the  sun.  This  lasted  half  an  hour,  with  a  violence 
that  defies  description. 

Becoming  calmer,  he  poured  a  little  water  on  the  head 
of  each  of  his  vassals  ;  then,  as  if  seized  with  an  impulse 
of  rage,  he  threw  the  rest  into  a  fire  kindled  on  purpose, 
crying  with  all  his  might,  "  He  Timagoa."  The  whole  army 
at  once  caught  up  the  cry,  and  at  this  signal  the  chiefs 
rose,  and  all  at  once  embarked.  This  ceremonial  was  af- 
terwards explained  to  the  Fi:ench.  They  were  told  that 
Saturiova  during  all  the  time  of  his  enthusiasm,  incessantly 
implored  of  the  sim  victory  over  his  enemies,  and  that  the 
very  fervor  of  his  prayer  put  him  in  the  state  in  which  he 
was  seen.  While  pouring  water  on  the  heads  of  his  vassals, 
he  oflfered  his  vows  to  obtain  their  return  loaded  with 
scalps  of  his  enemies,  and  by  casting  water  into  the  fire, 
he  showed  his  desire  to  shed  the  last  drop  of  the  blood 
of  Timagoa.' 

After  two  days  sailing,  the  warriors  were  within  ten 


'  Landonniere,  Histoire  Notable,  '  Laadonniere,  p,  90.  Le  Moyne 
pp.  07-8  ;  Le  Moyue,  Brevis  Narra-  de  Morgues  depicts  the  scene  in  his 
tio,  p.  0.  eleventh  plate. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


161 


leagiiea  of  the  village  which  tbej  wiuhed  to  attack.     Here     1564. 
they  hold  a  coiincil,  and  it  was  resolved  that  half  the  force  '— ^r— ^ 
should  keep  on  by  water,  the  rest  by  land,  and  that  both  satnriova'i 
parties  should  at  daybreak  burst  into  the  hostile  town  by    ""^  '"^'" 
different  points  ;  that  all  the  men  should  be  killed,  but  the 
women  and  children  spared  to  enslave.    All  this  was  exe- 
cuted exactly,  the  enemy  were  surprised,  and  all  able  to 
resist  cut   to   pieces  ;    only  twenty-four   prisoners  were 
taken.    The  victors  fearing  to  be  cut  oflf  on  their  retreat, 
scarcely  took  time  to  acalp  the  dead,  and  return  thanks  to 
the  sun  for  so  signal  a  success.    They  regained  their  peri- 
aguas  in  haste,  and  re-embarked  after  dividing  the  captives; 
as  for  booty,  these  tribes  are  not  accustomed  to  load  them- 
selves with  it,  and  there  is  very  little  to  gain  with  people 
who  fight  naked,  and  always  take  great  care  to  hide  their 
provisions.' 

Saturiova,  to  whose  share  fell  thirteen  prisoners,  reached  What  p«F- 
home  the  day  after  the  action,  and  as  soon  as  the  scalps  irm*  arfd° 
which  he  brought  appeared  at  his  door,  adorned  according  njc^e  a°"  to 
to  custom  with  lau  rel,  the  whole  town  was  in  tears  till  "'®  ^1"*°'^' 
evening.    Then  the  scene  changed,  and  the  whole  night 
was  spent  in  rejoicing.    The  next  day  Laudonniere  sent 
to  congratulate  the  paraousti  on  his  victory,  and  to  beg 
him  to  give  him  two  of  his  prisoners.    His  intention  was 
to  send  them  back  to  Timagoa,  in  order  to  gain  the  good- 
will of  that  nation  ;  for,  considering  all  things,  he  had  very 
wisely  concluded  it  to  be  for  the  interest  of  the  colony  to 
live  well  with  all  these  nations,  and  to  reconcile  them  with 
each  other  if  possible.    Happy,  had  he  always  adhered  to 
that  resolution.' 

Saturiova's  reply  was  a  refusal,  accompanied  with  some 
reproaches.  The  commandant  believed  that  his  honor 
did  not  permit  him  to  show  weakness  with  these  Indians. 
He  set  out  at  once  with  forty  men,  fully  armed,  and  re- 
paired to  the  paraousti's  cabin.    He  entered  alone,  after 


V] 


I  Laudonniere  in  Basanier,  p.  100.        '  lb.,  p.  101. 
Vol.  I.— 11 


■   H 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


162 


mSTi  ST  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1564.  surrounding  it  with  his  soldiers,  sat  down  beside  him  with- 
out saluting  him,  remained  there  for  a  time,  without  ad- 
dressing him  a  word,  then  asked  where  his  prisoners  were. 
Saturiova,  surprised  to  see  himself  thus  braved  in  his  very 
cabin,  remained  also  for  a  time  silent,  then  repUed  in  a 
haughty  tone,  that  his  prisoners,  alarmed  at  the  sight  of 
the  French,  had  fled  to  the  woods,  and  that  he  did  not 
know  where  to  seek  them. 

Laudonniere  pretended  not  to  hear,  and  raising  his 
Toice,  said  that  he  wished  to  see  the  prisoners,  and  that 
they  should  be  produced  at  once.  Then  Saturiova  ordered 
one  of  his  people  to  go  for  them,  and  a  moment  after  they 
appeared.  The  poor  wretches  saw  at  once,  by  the  air  of 
the  French  chief,  that  it  was  not  his  intention  to  injure 
them,  and  wished  to  throw  themselves  at  his  feet,  but  he 
did  not  give  them  time  ;  he  rose,  left  the  cabin,  and  bade 
them  follow  him.  He  took  them  into  his  fort,  where  he 
treated  them  well;  then  put  them  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
d'Erlach,  and  one  of  the  two  le  Yasseurs,  with  orders  to 
take  them  back  to  their  country.  He  at  the  same  time 
informed  Saturiova  of  what  he  had  just  done,  adding,  that 
he  did  so  to  restore  peace  between  him  and  Timagoa.  The 
two  envoys  were,  moreover,  instructed  to  omit  no  means  to 
secure  Timogoa's  fidelity ;  then  to  go  and  find  a  great  chief 
named  Outina  (on  whom  it  appears  Timagoa  depended, 
and  whose  power  had  been  greatly  exaggerated  to  the 
French  chief),  to  salute  him  on  his  behalf,  and  to  contract 
an  alliance  with  him.' 

Meanwhile,  Saturiova  could  not  but  resent  the  manner 
der'and'itB  in  which  he  had  just  been  treated,  but  he  was  sufficiently 
master  of  himself  to  dissemble  his  resentment  till  he  found 
a  favorable  moment  for  revenge.  He  even  sent  word  to 
the  commandant  of  Caroline  that  he  might  treat  with  Tima- 
goa as  he  thought  proper,  and  that  he  would  abide  by 
aU  he  agreed  upon.     He  affected  to  give  him  more  marks 


Eztntordi- 
oaxy   than' 
"er  I 
effeote. 


Laudonniere  in  Baaanier,  pp.  lOtf-4. 


mSTOEY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


163 


of  confidence  than  ever,  and  made  him  several  presents.  i5^4« 
His  design  was  to  banish  all  distrust,  so  as  to  surprise  him  -"  •'  ^' 
more  easily ;  but  one  of  the  strangest  accidents,  which  I 
relate  only  under  the  guarantee  of  those  who  aver  that 
tney  were  eye-witnesses,  induced  the  paraousti  to  believe 
that  the  surest  and  most  advantageous  course  for  him  was 
to  live  on  good  terms  with  the  French. 

On  the  21st  of  August,  it  thundered  in  such  a  surprising 
manner,  half  a  league  from  Caroline,  that  not  only  the  air, 
but  the  fields  seemed  on  fire.  This  first  storm  was  fol- 
lowed by  several  others,  in  close  succession  on  each  other, 
for  three  days ;  and  what  is  peculiar,  the  river  was  so 
heated,  that  it  was  seen  to  boil,  and  a  prodigious  quantity 
of  fish  died.  The  woods  also  took  fire  in  several  places, 
and  so  suddenly  that  all  the  birds  had  not  time  to  escape, 
and  great  numbers  perished.' 

The  French  did  not  know  what  to  think  of  what  they 
saw ;  some  imagined  that  the  Indians,  in  order  to  compel 
them  to  leave  the  country,  had  set  fire  to  their  fields  and 
their  woods,  so  as  to  deprive  them  of  all  resource,  and  to 
cause  them  to  perish  by  hunger,  if  they  obstinately  re- 
mained. But  the  Indians  had  quite  different  ideas  in  their 
heads,  and  Laudonniere,  who  percei^'ed  it,  took  care  not  to 
disabuse  them.  They  had  had  no  doubt  but  that  all  this 
uproar  was  caused  by  the  French  commander,  and  they 
sent  to  ask  Laudonniere  to  stop  it  as  soon  as  possible, 
in  order  to  arrest  the  general  conflagration  which  menaced 
them..' 

Those  who  came  with  this  petition  were  subjects  of  one  How  Ltn- 
of  Saturiova's  vassals,'  from  whom  Laudonniere  had  also  profltad'by 
demanded  his  prisoners,  and  who  obstinately  refused  them. 
The  commandant  answered  the  envoys,  that  the  misfor- 
tunes, whose  consequences  they  so  justly  dreaded,  were 
the  just  retribution  of  their  master's  misconduct,  and  it 


It. 


■  L&udonaiere,    in  Basanier,  pp. 
105-7.  •  lb.,  p.  106. 


*  Allicamany.  Laudonniere  in  Ba- 
sanier, Histoire  Notable,  p.  106. 


( 


164 


mSTOBT  OF  NEW  FRANCE, 


J  564. 


Mr.  d'Er- 
laoh,  with 
five  French- 
men, en- 
ables an  In- 
dian chief 
to  gain  a 
great  vic- 
tory. 


was  Ids  mtention  to  go  and  bum  him  in  his  cabin,  if  he 
persisted  in  his  refusal.  This  stratagem  met  with  the  de- 
sired success ;  the  paraousti,  without  a  moment's  delay, 
sent  him  his  prisoners,  and  the  fire  soon  after  ceased.  The 
French  had  foreseen  this ;  but  the  Indian  chief  was  still  so 
alarmed,  that  he  fled  to  a  distance  of  twenty-five  leagues, 
and  aid  not  appear  for  two  months.  Meanwhile,  the  air 
was  so  heated,  and  the  water  of  the  river  so  tainted  by  the 
immense  quantity  of  dead  fish  which  covered  it,  that  most 
of  those  who  drank  it  at  the  time  fell  sick,  though  none  of 
the  French  died.' 

On  the  10th  of  September,  d'Erlach  and  le  Yasseur 
set  out  with  a  sergeant  and  ten  soldiers,  to  conduct  the 
prisoners  in  question  back  to  Timagoa.  After  fulfilling 
their  commission,  they  went  on  to  Outina,  who  resided 
ninety  leagues  from  Caroline,  and  were  received  by  that 
paraousti  with  great  demonstrations  of  joy.  He  was  pre- 
paring to  march  against  one  of  his  enemies,  named  Fo- 
tanou,  and  urged  Mr.  d'Erlach  to  join  him  in  the  expedition ; 
that  officer,  however,  took  with  him  only  half  his  escort, 
sending  the  rest  back  to  the  fort  under  le  Yasseur.  The 
latter  bore  a  letter  for  the  commandant,  in  which  d'Erlach 
requested  orders  as  to  the  stay  he  was  to  make  at  Outina. 

That  chief  took  the  field  a  few  days  after  with  a  small 
army,  hoping  to  take  his  enemy  by  surprise ;  but  he  was 
greatly  disconcerted  to  behold  him  actually  advancing 
against  him  in  full  force.  D'Erlach  reassured  him,  and 
having  at  the  first  volley  from  his  firelock  stretched  Fo- 
tanou  himself  on  the  ground,  the  whole  grand  army  lost 
heart  and  fled,  although  one  of  the  French  too  was  killed 
by  an  arrow  at  the  first  discharge.  He  was  indeed  well 
avenged  ;  d'Erlach  and  Outina  made  great  carnage  among 
the  fugitives,  and  brought  in  many  prisoners.*    They  had 


■  Landonniere  in  Basanier,  His-    toire  Notable,  pp.  108, 109.    In  Bar 
toire  Notable,  pp.  107, 108.  eanier  the  word  is  printed  Potavoa ; 

*  Landonniere  in  Baeanier,  His-    in  Le  Mojne,  Fotanoa. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FBAMCE. 


166 


scarcely  returned  to  Outina,  when  a  boat  sent  by  Laudon-  1564. 
niere  came  for  d'Erlacb,  to  whom  the  paraousti  made  ".■"'""' 
some  very  fin«  presents.  He  sent  presents  also  to  the 
commandant  of  the  French,  among  which  were  pieces  of 
gold  and  silver.  He  also  pledged  his  word  to  d'Erlach,  that 
if  the  French  needed  his  subjects  they  should  always  find 
six  hundred  ready  to  serve  them  against  all  the  world.' 

De  Laudonniere  had  been  obhged  to  recall  d'Erlach, 
from  the  fact  that  he  had  been  warned  of  a  secret  conspi-  Sedition  at 
racy  against  him.  The  volunteers,  several  of  whom  were, 
as  I  have  said,  gentlemen,  took  it  ill  that  the  command- 
ant should  employ  them  in  the  same  labors  as  the  lowest 
mechanics  ;  and  all  complained  that  he  had  not  brought 
to  Florida  a  single  minister,  so  that  there  was  no  public 
exercise  of  religion.  But  the  cause  of  discontent  in  the 
majority  was,  that  the  provisions  were  on  the  eve  of  failing 
entirely.  Moreover,  an  adventurer  had  persuaded  most 
of  them  that  he  had  a  secret  to  find  gold-mines,  which  the 
commandant  would  not  permit  him  to  test.' 

Laudonniere's  conduct,  wise  as  it  was,  had  been  regarded 
as  pure  tyranny.  It  was  loudly  declared  that  the  intention 
of  the  king  and  the  admiral  was,  that  nothing  should  be 
neglected  to  discover  all  the  riches  contained  in  the  coun- 
try ;  and  it  was  incessantly  repeated,  that  neither  Mr.  de 
Coligni  nor  his  majesty  intended  to  send  so  many  men  of 
good  family  to  America,  to  be  treated  as  slaves  and  die  of 
hunger.  This  language  soon  passed  from  private  conver- 
sations to  public  meetings,  ?,nd  from  murmurs  they  came 
to  conspire  against  the  commandant's  life,  who  had  no 
little  to  do  to  guard  against  the  snares  laid  for  him  at  dif- 
ferent times.' 

He  nevertheless  deemed  that  the  worst  course  for 
him  to  adopt  in  so  critical  a  juncture,  would  be  to  relax. 


■  Laudonniere  in  Bosanier,  His-    in  Laudonniere  of  any  complaint  of 
toire  Notable,  p.  109.  want  of  minlBters. 

*  lb.,  p.  110.    There  is  no  mention        ■  lb.,  pp.  110-13. 


I'f  *  ■■-J 


166 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


u 


1564.  He  began  by  subjecting  to  the  penalty  of  the  law  a  wretch 
^-"■^'''■^  who  abused  his  confidence  to  betray  him.  He  then  sent  back 
Hi»  Arm-  to  France'  those  of  the  mutineers  from  whom  he  believed 
ocoMion.  that  he  bad  most  to  fear,  availing  himself  for  that  purpose 
of  a  ship  which  arrived  in  Florida  in  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember and  sailed  back  on  the  10th  of  November.  He 
believed  that  it  would  then  be  easier  for  him  to  be  master. 
But  he  was  mistaken :  the  fire  of  sedition  was  not  only 
not  extinguished,  but,  on  the  contrary,  made  the  greater 
progress  from  the  too  speedy  conviction  of  the  command- 
ant, that  the  factious  were  deprived  of  leaders.  He  soon 
saw  his  error,  and  took  other  steps  to  baffle  all  these  plots. 
All  whom  he  thought  he  should  most  distrust,  he  sent 
under  a  gentleman  named  la  Bocheferriere  to  Outina,  with 
orders  to  complete  the  exploration  of  that  canton,*  and 
he  kept  with  him  d'Ottigny  and  d'Erlach,  his  two  highest 
officers,  most  devoted,  as  he  knew,  to  his  person. 
Sevorsi  These  precautions  w^ere  wisely  taken,  but  Laudonniere 
did  not  know  all  the  malcontents.  A  few  days  after  the 
departure  of  la  Bocheferriere,  thirteen  sailors  carried  off 
one  of  the  two  barks,  used  to  go  for  provisions,  and  dis- 
appeared.' Two  carpenters,  newly  arrived  from  France, 
seized  the  other,  and  it  was  never  known  what  became  of 
them.*  As  such  boats  were  indispensable,  Laudonniere 
had  two  others  built,  but  they  were  not  finished  when  an 
open  revolt  deprived  the  commandant  of  that  resource, 
and  the  colony  of  half  its  inhabitants. 

A  Genevan,  named  Etienne,  and  two  Frenchmen,  Four- 
neaux  and  La  Oroix,  counselled  some  of  the  volunteers  and 
many  of  the  soldiers  to  go  on  a  cruise  against  the  Span- 
iards, persuading  them  that  the  capture  of  a  vessel  of  that 
nation,  or  the  plunder  of  the  least  petty  settlement,  would 


Franoh  dis- 
appear. 


The  mati- 

ueera  wish 

to  go  on  a 

oruUa. 


■  Laudonniere  in  Baaanier,  p.  114. 
He  sent  tlie  maloontents  baclL  hy 
Captain  Bourdet. 

'  lb.,  p.  113 ;  Le  Moyne  de  Morgues, 
Brevis  Narratio,  p.  13. 


'  Laudonniere,  in  Baaanier,  p.  114. 

'  lb.,  p.  115.  Some  suppose  these 
runaways  referred  to  in  Hawkins 
(Hakluyt,  iii.,  p.  S17),  but  he  evi- 
dently refers  to  the  mutineers. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FKANCE. 


167 


be  enough  to  enrich  them  forever.  The  scheme  was  soon  1564. 
concerted ;  and  the  number  of  these  new  pirates  was  '  -"  t  ^ ' 
sixty-six,  some  of  whom,  however,  joined  in  it  rather 
from  fear  of  ill-treatment  which  the  conspirators  threat- 
ened, than  from  any  hope  or  desire  of  bettering  their  for- 
tunes. Their  preparations  were  made  with  great  secrecy ; 
and  one  day  when  the  commandant  was  sick  in  bed,  five 
of  the  most  resolute  entered  his  room  well  armed :  four 
stopped  at  the  door,  and  one  alone  approaching  the  bed, 
told  him  that  they  were  resolved  to  go  on  a  cruise  along 
the  Spanish  Isles.' 

He  replied,  that  before  carrying  out  such  a  project.  They  force 
there  were  many  things  to  be  thought  of,  and  that  they  mandant  to 
could  not  be  ignorant  that  the  king  and  the  queen  re-  ^'^ibViod?' 
gent  had  expressly  forbidden  him  to  allow  any  under  his 
orders  to  undertake  any  thing  against  the  Spanish  colonies. 
"All  has  been  considered,  sir,"  repUed  the  conspirator; 
"  it  is  an  irrevocable  step ;  and  any  opposition  on  your  part 
is  vain."    Fearful  oaths  followed  this  insolent  reply,  and 
the  four  others  coming  in,  swearing  away  in  the  same  style, 
they  began  to  rummage  every  hole  and  comer  of  the  room, 
in  which  they  left  nothing  that  coiild  be  of  the  least  use  to 
them.    They  even  wounded  a  gentleman,  who  ran  up  at 
the  noise  and  endeavored  to  repress  their  violence. 

They  did  more.  They  seized  the  commandant,  and 
carried  him  to  a  vessel  anchored  off  the  fort,  where  they 
kept  him  imder  close  watch  for  two  weeks,  with  a  valet 
whom  they  left  to  wait  upon  him.  They  wished  especially 
to  get  la  Caille,  a  sergeant,  bent  on  taking  his  life ;  but 
he  escaped,  and  took  to  the  woods.  They  finally  drew  up 
a  commission,  such  as  they  wished,  to  cruise  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  took  it  to  Laudonniere,  whom  they  forced, 
with  a  dagger  at  his  throat,  to  sign  it.  In  the  same 
way,  they  compelled  one  of  the  two  le  Vasseurs  to  give 


■  Laudonniere  in  Basanier,  Hie-    Morgues,  Brevia  Narratio,  pp.  13, 
toire  Notable,  p.  116 ;  Le  Moyne  de    13. 


■1 


-■■c.i.-'%!^.XL\j)  1^-nmmmu  j-f:avmsnswim\Sim 


168 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1565. 


1564.     them  Lis  flag,  and  another  pilot,  Trenchant,  to  accompany 

'•"'"''  them.' 

They  leiw-     They  fitted  out  the  two  new  vessels,  and  set  sail  on  the 

P»rty  loit.  8th  of  December.  Their  design  was  to  steer  straight  to  St. 
Domingo  and  pillage  Taguana,'  then  a  considerable  town, 
ruins  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen,  two  leagues  from  Leo- 
gane.  They  expected  to  lay  their  plans  so  well,  that  they 
would  reach  there  on  Christmas  eve,  and  attack  it  while  all 
were  at  church.  But  while  they  were  still  in  May  River, 
a  division  arose,  as  almost  always  happens  among  those 
who  have  thrown  off  the  yoke  of  lawful  authority.  Af- 
ter long  disput^)s,  the  two  vessels  parted  company.  One 
followed  the  coast  to  cross  over  to  Cuba  ;  the  other  stood 
off  to  range  the  Bahamas,  and  apparently  this  latter  vessel 
perished  at  sea — at  least,  no  tidings  of  it  were  ever 
heard.' 

The  othon     The  other,  on  which  the  pilot  Trenchant  was,  imder  the 

make  some  ,      ,  ,,_  „  ,  .  .,  .         .,1 

captures,  commuud  of  one  d  Granger,  after  some  days  fell  m  with  a 
Spanish  brigantine,  loaded  with  wine  anu  cassave,  which 
they  took,  and  on  which  d'Oranger  put  all  who  were  in  his 
way  on  his  own  vessel,  with  a  part  of  the  provisions.  Our 
adventurers  then  gained  the  western  coast  of  St.  Domingo, 
refreshed  themselves  at  a  harbor  near  Yaguana,  recaulked 
their  prize,  which  leaked,  and  proceeded  to  Baracoa,  in 
the  island  of  Cuba.*  In  this  port  they  found  a  caravel  of 
fifty  or  sixty  tons,  with  no  one  aboard :  they  seized  it, 
and  left  their  own  vessel  in  its  stead.  Thence  they  ran 
down  again  to  St.  Domingo,  and  near  Cape  Tiburon  cap- 
tured a  richly-loaded  patach,  carrying  the  governor  of 
Jamaica  and  his  two  sons,  who  became  their  prisoners.* 
They  expected  to  obtain  a  good  ransom ;  but  as  they 


■  Landonniere,  pp.  119,  120  ;  Le 
Moyne,  p.  13. 

'  Barda  calls  the  place  Xagoana. 

'  Laudonniere  in  Basanier,  pp. 
120,  121.  He  says  the  vesaels  met 
six  weeks  after  (p.  121) 


<  Jamaica. 

*  Laudomiiere,  ib.,  pp.  131-3 ; 
Le  Moyne,  Brevis  Narratio,  pp.  10, 
20;  Barcia  (Ensayo  Cronologioo,  p. 
73, 1)  says  that  the  person  captured 
was  governor  of  Havana. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PKANCB 


199 


approached  Jamaica,  the  governor  employed  a  successful     1565. 
stratagem  to  escape  from  their  hands.    He  proposed  to  "-^»~^'' 
send  a  letter  to  his  wife  by  one  of  his  sons,  to  inform  her  What  bofeil 
of  his  captivity  and  bring  back  the  sum  he  had  agreed   jamaio*. 
upon  with  them  for  his  ransom.    They  fell  into  the  trans- 
parent snare  ;  and  the  governor,  after  showing  d'Oranger 
a  letter  containing  only  what  has  been  mentioned,  gave 
the  bearer  secret  orders,  which  were  promptly  executed. 
Some  time  after,  at  early  daybreak,  our  pirates  were  much 
astonished  to  see  themselves  invested  by  three  well-armed 
vessels,  carrying  a  large  force.    The  odds  were  too  great 
to  risk  a  combat.    The  caravel,  in  which  d'Oranger  was 
with  the  Spanish  governor,  was  forced  to  surrender.    The 
brigantiue,  which  carried  twenty-five  men,  had  time  to  cut 
her  cable  and  gain  the  sea.    It  was  pursued,  but  too  late, 
and  could  not  be  overtaken.    They  doubled  Cape  San 
Antonio,  the  western  point  of  Cuba,  and  then  ranged  all 
the  northern  coast  of  that  island.' 

Trenchant,  the  pilot,  who  commanded  her,  having  con-  some  re- 
certed  matters  with  some  sailors,  who  had,  hke  him,  been  "  roune.  '^ 
embarked  by  force,  availed  himself  of  the  night-time  to 
cross  the  Bahama  Channel,  which  he  had  entered  unper- 
ceived  by  the  others.  They  were  much  astonished  when 
they  discovered  the  coast  of  Florida,  but  it  was  too  late  to 
gainsay  it.  They  were  o  it  of  provisions,  and  did  not  know 
where  to  look  for  any  :  they  had  therefore,  perforce,  to  let 
themselves  be  carried  along.  They  were  but  aJew  leagues 
from  the  May  River,  when  Mr.  de  Laudonniere  was  in- 
formed by  the  Indians  that  a  vessel,  with  French  on  board, 
was  in  sight. 

The  brigantine  soon  after  moored  in  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  and  the  news  being  carried  to  Caroline,  the  governor 
sent  orders  to  Trenchant  to  approach  the  fo^i.  The  con- 
spirators would  have  made  opposition,  but  a  detacluuent 
of  thirty  soldiers  having  come  to  seize  the  four  most  mu- 


'  Laudonniere,  p.  128 ;  Le  Moyne,  pp.  19, ', 


170 


BISTORT  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


f.  I 


156$.  tinouB,  the  rest  alloTred  themselves  to  be  taken,  and  were 
'-^  -^  ■"'  put  in  irons.  The  trial  of  the  first  was  already  proceeding, 
and  the  court  martial  had  condemned  them  to  be  hung. 
As  soon  as  the  brigantine  anchored  before  the  fort,  all  on 
board  were  landed,  and  de  Laudonniere  appeared  at  the 
head  of  his  troops,  to  execute  the  sentence  passed  on  the 
four  leaders  in  the  revolt. 
PuDiih-  These  wretches,  seeing  no  longer  anj  hope  of  avoiding 
mo«t guilty,  the  punishment  which  they  had  so  richly  deserved,  began 
to  pray.  One,  however,  turning  to  the  soldiers,  stretched 
out  his  arms,  and  cried :  "  What,  comrades,  will  you  suffer 
us  to  perish  thus?"  The  commandant  replied  that  the 
king's  soldiers  did  not  recognize  rebels  as  comrades. 
There  was,  withal,  a  slight  movement  among  the  troops, 
and  several  asked  for  a  commutation  of  the  culprits'  pun- 
ishment. Laudonniere  did  not  yield,  till  the  entreaties 
were  multiplied ;  at  last,  he  consented  that  they  should  be 
shot,  on  condition,  however,  that  their  bodies  after  death 
should  be  gibbeted.  The  execution  took  place  at  once. 
The  Genevan  Etienne,  la  Croix,  and  des  Fourneaux,  with 
one  whose  name  I  do  not  find,  comprised  the  four.' 

While  French  Florida  was  thus  depopulated,  it  was  be- 
coming more  and  more  explored.  La  Bocheferriere  had 
penetrated  to  nations  near  the  Apalache  mountains,  had 
contracted  alliance  with  several  paraoustis,  and  without 
much  regard  for  Outina,  whom  his  negotiations  displeased, 
had  returned  to  Caroline  with  very  fine  presents  for  de 
Laudonniere,  from  his  new  allies.  That  commandant  con- 
ceived great  hopes  from  these  discoveries,  more  especially 
as  some  of  the  presents  which  he  had  just  received  were 
quite  precious.  These  were  small  plates  of  gold  and 
silver,  pretended  pieces  of  ore,  well-wrought  quivers,  fine 
skins,  arrows  tipped  with  gold,  carpets  quite  delicately 
woven  of  bird's  feathers,  blue  and  green  figured  stones, 


N«w  dU- 
ooTerien. 


¥ 


.    ^ 


'  Laudonniere  in  Baaanier,  HiB-    de  Morgues,  Brevig  Narratio,  pp.  10, 
toiie  Notable,  pp.  125-27  ;  U  Moyne    20 ;  Hawk,  in  Hak.,  ill.,  pp.  617, 618. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


m 


'/ 


axes  made  of  theae  stones,  and  other  rarities  of  the  same  1S65. 
kind.'  Peter  Qambie,  a  soldier,  had  also,  with  the  com-  "-"^"^^ 
mandant's  permission,  gone  to  explore  the  country  on  the 
other  side ;  but  as  he  was  returning,  pretty  well  loaded 
with  articles  obtained  in  exchange  for  European  curios- 
ities, he  was  assassinated  in  his  periagua  by  two  Indians, 
who  had  offered  to  guide  him.' 

About  the  same  time  they  learned  that,  at  quite  a  dis-  Adventure 
tance  from  Caroline  to  the  south,  there  were  two  Euro-  SpanUrdi. 
peans  in  the  hands  of  a  paraousti,  named  Onathaca,  and 
Laudonniere  sent  offerings  to  ransom  them.  The  para- 
ousti made  no  objection  to  giving  them  up  on  this  con- 
dition, and  they  were  brought  to  the  fort.  They  were  two 
Spaniards,  who  were  presented  to  the  commandant,  per- 
fectly naked,  with  hair  hanging  down  to  their  knees.  They 
first  dressed  them,  then  cut  their  hair,  which  was  very 
filthy  and  disordered.  One  of  the  two  had  concealed  in  his 
a  piece  of  gold,  worth  about  twenty-five  crowi.  <,  and  neither 
he  nor  his  companion  would  allow  the  hair  that  was  out 
off  to  be  thrown  away  ;  they  kept  it  carefuUy  to  send  to 
their  families,  as  a  monument  of  the  long  captivity  that 
they  had  undergone.' 

These  two  men  related,  that  besides  Onathaca,*  who  Acoounta  of 
resided  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Floridian  peninsula,  ^  *o^pe.'^  * 
there  was  on  the  west  coast  another  cacique,  named  Ca- 
los,'  no  less  powerful  than  the  former,  and  surpassing  him 
greatly  in  riches.  It  was  the  source  of  the  mines  from 
which  all  the  gold,  silver,  and  stones  found  in  Florida 
had  come,  most  of  the  vessels  wrecked  on  the  passage 
from  America  having  gone  ashore  near  his  territory. 
The  two  Spaniards  declared  that  this  Indian  had  dug  a 


VV 


■  Laadonniere,  p.  118. 

*Le  Moyne,  Brevis  Narratio,  p. 
14 ;  Laudonniere,  p.  140. 

*  Le  MoTue,  BreviB  Narratio,  p. 
16 ;  Laudonniere,  pp.  180-1. 


(p.  180),  Oathkaqoa,  in  Le  Moyne  (p. 
17) ;  Hawkins  in  HaUayt,  iii.,  p.  S19. 
*  These  Caloe  or  Carlos  are  very 
cruel  cannibals.  They  live  on  a  bay 
which  bears  their  name,  and  that 


*  This  is  Onathaqua,  in  Basanler    also  of  Ponce  de  heaa,— Charlevoix. 


17a 


HISTOBI  OF  NEW  FBANCB. 


It 

I    i 


ll^ 


156$.  ditoh  six  feet  deep  by  three  wide,  and  filled  it  with  all 
'-^■''^  kinds  of  riches ;  that  there  were  actually  in  his  town  four 
or  five  women  of  rank,  with  their  children,  who  had  been 
wrecked  with  themselves  about  flftoeu  years  before  ;  that 
this  savage  had  found  means  to  persuade  his  subjects,  that 
all  his  riches  was  the  fruit  of  the  power  which  he  had  to 
make  the  earth  produce  them ;  and  that  he  annually,  at 
harvest-time,  sacrificed  a  man, — generally  one  of  those 
whom  some  tempest  had  delivered  into  his  hands. 

They  then  warned  the  French  not  to  trust  the  Floridians ; 
that  these  Indians  were  never  more  to  be  feared  than 
when  they  were  most  lavish  of  friendly  professions.  They 
added  that  they  would  undertake  to  carry  ofif  all  the 
treasures  of  Calos  with  a  hundred  well-armed  men.  One 
of  the  two  said,  moreover,  that  having  been  often  sent  by 
Onathaca,  his  master,  to  that  cacique,  he  had  discovered 
on  the  route,  about  half-way,  a  g^eat  lake  of  fresh  water, 
called  Serrop^,  with  an  island  in  the  middle,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  which  carried  on  a  great  trade  in  the  dates  of  their 
palm-trees,  and  a  greater  one  in  a  certain  root,  of  which 
they  made  bread,  but  of  which  he  did  not  know  the  name.' 
Laudon-  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  Saturiova  again 
"iMM*  '"  urged  de  Laudonniere  to  join  him  against  Outina  and 
'"indfkiu. "  Timugoa,  or  at  least  to  recall  the  French,  who  had  re- 
mained with  the  former  ;  respect  for  whom,  he  said,  had 
long  alone  prevented  his  turning  his  arms  in  that  direction. 
Many  other  paraoustis  supported  his  request;  but  the 
commandant  deemed  it  more  politic,  in  his  aotual  position, 
to  labor  to  reconcile  these  nations  with  each  other,  than 
to  side  with  one  against  another;  and  he  at  last  suc- 
ceeded in  making  them  conclude  a  treaty,'  of  which  he 
prepared  at  once  to  profit  to  secure  himself  against  any 
who  should  attempt  any  thing  contrary  to  the  interests  of 
his  colony. 

>  Laadooniere,  pp.  181-S.   Brinton    the  dates  the  pronoB  chlokaaaw,  and 
^loridian  Peninaola,  p.  117)  thinks    the  root,  the  ooonta  or  7am. 
It  may  be  Lake  Ware.    He  thinks       ■  Land.,  p.  184 ;  Le  MoTne,  p.  17. 


V* 


New  dli- 
ooveriM, 


m.  **  NEW  FilANCB.  178 

His  first  oare  then,  and  it  flbould  have  been  his  first  on     156$. 
arriving  in  Florida,  was  to  fill  liiH  storehouse,  oonvinoed  ^— v— ' 
by  bitter  experience  that  the   surest  moans  to  prevent  Hii  preoaa- 
mutinies  among  new  colonists  is  to  keep  them  ever  in  rurtir^inf. 
plenty,  and  to  employ  them  in  profitable  exercise.     At  the 
same  time  be  added  new  works  to  his  fort,  making  it 
impregnable  to  any  attack  from  the  Indians,  the  only 
enemies  against  whom  ho  supposed  it  necessary  to  take 
precautious.    After  this  he  again  sent  the  Sieur  d'Ottigny, 
hiu  lieutenant,  to  explore  the  country. 

This  officer  penetrated  to  the  banks  of  a  great  lake, 
of  which  he  could  not  see  the  further  end,  even  from  the 
tops  of  the  highest  trees,  and  which  Lescarbot  imagined 
to  have  communicated  with  the  Pacific, — a  pardonable 
error  at  the  time,  when  only  the  coasts  of  North  America 
were  known.'  The  lake  which  d'Ottigny  discovered  is 
apparently  the  same  which  Hemiln  de  Soto  perceived 
as  he  approached  the  mountains  of  Apalaohe,  and  which 
is  not  even  now  well  known,  any  more  than  another  smaller 
one,  found,  it  is  said,  amid  these  very  mountains,  pretty 
far  to  the  northeast  of  the  former,  and  where  they  pretend 
the  sand  is  mingled  with  some  grains  of  silver,  if,  indeed, 
both  are  not  fabulous.  D'Ottijgny,  returning  to  Caroline, 
made  several  diversions  through  a  most  beautiful  country ; 
then  repaired  to  Outiua,  to  whom  his  arrival  gave  great 
pleasure,  and  with  whom  he  could  not  avoid  leaving  some 
of  his  party. 

Two  months  after,  Groutaut,  one  of  these  Frenchmen,  War  breaks 
arrived  at  the  fort,  and  made  de  Laudonniere  a  very  spe-  tiie  lodians 
cious  proposition  from  a  paraousti,  one  of  Outina's  neigh- 
bors.     This  was  to   make   the  French   masters  of  the 
mountains  of  Apalache,  if  they  would  help  him  to  drive 
out  one  of  his  enemies,  who  was  in  possession.    The  com- 


^ 


again. 


>  Leacubot,  Histolre  de  la  Nou- 
Tolle  France  (ed.  1618),  p.  90.  I« 
Moyne  de  Morguee  (p,  19)  and  Lau- 
donniere (p.  187)  say  that  he  merely 


went  in  sight  of  t'o  lake,  and  that 
the  Indians  reported  that  ihoj  could 
not  see  across  it.  It  is  probably 
Lake  Qeorge. 


174 


mSTORT  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1565.  mandant  wotild  gladly  have  profited  bj  this  offer,  for  ho 
^—^""^  had  always  in  his  imagination  that  these  mountains  con- 
tained mines ;  but  as  he  had  scarcely  any  more  men  than 
were  needed  to  guard  his  post,  he  deemed  it  his  duty,  be- 
fore responding  to  this  paraousti,  to  await  the  re-enforce- 
ment he  had  been  led  to  expect  from  France.  He  had  no 
thoughts  of  interfering  in  Indian  affairs,  when  envoys 
from  Outina  came  to  ask,  in  their  master's  name,  twelve 
or  fifteen  of  his  people  to  lead  them  against  Potanou,' 
with  whom  he  was  again  at  variance. 
Laudon-  On  this  request  he  would  decide  nothing  till  he  had 
aid  to  Ou-  consulted  his  chief  officers,  most  of  whom  judged  it  expe- 
dient to  «pratify  Outina.  Those  who  spoke  thus  relied  on 
the  example  of  the  Spaniards,  who  had  effected  such  great 
conquests  in  the  New  World,  only,  they  declared,  by 
weakening  the  natives  of  the  country  by  each  other. 
They  even  added,  that  instead  of  twelve  men,  as  solicited 
by  Outina,  thirty  should  be  sent,  so  that  they  might  be  in 
n  position  to  support  themselves  among  the  Indians ;  add- 
ing, that  you  could  never  count  on  the  friendship  and 
good-will  of  these  Indians,  even  when  you  do  them  a  ser- 
vice, imless  you  are  strong  enough  to  fear  naught. 

Iiaudonniere  relished  this  counsel,  and  d'Ottigny  was 
ordered  with  thirty  men  to  join  Outina,  who  no  sooner 
received  this  re-enforcement  than  he  took  the  field  with 
three  hundred  of  his  subjects.  After  this  little  army  had 
marched  two  days,  Outina  was  informed  that  he  was  dis- 
covered, which  disturbed  him  greatly.  He  consulted  his 
Jonas  to  know  whether  he  should  go  any  further,  or  re- 
trace his  steps.  The  mudicine-man,  after  many  grimaces 
and  contortions,  told  him  that  Potanou  awaited  his  coming 
with  two  thousand  men,  and  cords  to  bind  him  and  his  peo- 
ple.   On  this  he  did  not  hesitate  to  order  a  retreat. 


■  Landonniere,  pp.  138,  139 ;  I^iO  moBt  be  remembered  that,  in  Flo- 
Moyne,  p.  16.  We  have  seen  that  rida,  the  chiefs  name  is  always  that 
Potanou  was  killed  in  battle ;  but  it    of  his  trihe.—Oharlevoix. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


175 


D'Ottigny  was  in  despair  at  losing  so  favorable  an  op-  1 565. 
portunity  of  showing  the  Floridians  the  difference  between 
them  and  the  French.  After  in  vain  exhausting  all  his  elo- 
quence to  make  these  savages  take  heart  again,  he  told  them 
that  since  they  abandoned  him  thus,  on  an  occasion  where 
it  rested  solely  with  them  to  acquire  great  glory,  he  would 
go  alone  with  his  band  to  attack  Potanou,  asking  only  a 
guide  to  lead  him  against  the  enemy.  These  words  had 
all  the  effect  that  d'Ottigny  had  anticipated.  Outina  was 
ashamed  of  his  cowardice :  they  marched  on  the  enemy, 
whom  they  met  precisely  at  the  spot,  and  with  the  forces 
announced  by  the  medicine-man.  Yet  they  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  charge  first,  and  the  French  musketry  did  such  ter- 
rible execution  on  the  foremost  ranks  of  Potanou,  that  his 
whole  army  disbanded  in  an  instant.  Outina,  notwith- 
standing this  unexpected  success,  durst  not  pursue  the  fu- 
gitives ;  and  d'Ottigny  seeing  that  there  was  neither  honor 
nor  profit  to  be  expected  with  such  warriors,  left  twelve 
men  with  his  allies,  and  returned  in  all  haste  to  Caroline.' 

He  found  Mr.  de  Laudonniere  in  a  great  strait :  that  com- 
mander had  counted  on  receiving  supplies  from  France, 
at  the  latest  in  April,  and  he  had  no  provisions  beyond  Franoh.** 
what  would  enable  them  to  reach  that  time.  To  crown  his 
diificulties,  the  Indians  began  to  prize  European  curiosi- 
ties less,  and  sold  very  high  every  thing  that  the  French 
were  obUged  to  purchase  of  them.  Meanwhile,  the  month  of 
May  was  slipping  by,  without  his  receiving  any  tidings 
from  France :  the  famine  in  Caroline  was  excessive ;  acorns 
had  become  the  ordinary  food,'  and  even  these  soon  failed, 
and  they  were  driven  to  dig  up  roots  from  the  earth,  which 
barely  enabled  them  to  prolong  a  languishing  existence. 
All  the  elements  seemed  to  conspire  against  these  unfor- 
timate  colonists,  fish  disappeared  from  the  river,  and  game 
from  the  woods  and  marshes. 

The  Indians,  from  whom  they  could  not  conceal  their  ex- 


Extremity 

to  which 
famine 


I  Laadonniere,  pp.  140-4. 


*  Hawkins  in  Halduyt,  iii. 


176 


mSTOBT  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1565. 


Violent 
couusel 

given  to 
audon- 
niere. 


The  conse- 
quences. 


tremitj,  and  who  had  scarcely  more  than  was  necessary  for 
themseWes,  set  an  exorbitant  price  on  the  little  of  which 
they  chose  to  deprive  themselves  ;  and  when  they  had  no 
more  to  sell,  disappeared.  The  French  sought  thorn  in 
the  woods,  put  themselves  at  the  discretion  of  the  Indians, 
and  more  than  once  experienced  rebuff  and  insult.  One 
paraousti  even  went  so  far  as  to  murder  and  rob  a  French- 
man, who  had,  he  learned,  some  gold  in  his  possession. 
Laudonniere,  judging  that  such  a  crime  should  not  be 
allowed  to  go  unpunished,  sent  to  burn  the  village  where 
the  barbarian  lived :  the  latter  had  anticipated  the  step — 
the  French  found  only  empty  cabins,  easily  replaced. 

In  the  despair  in  which  so  many  misfortunes  plunged 
them  all,  it  was  proposed  by  some  one  to  go  and  seize  Ou- 
tina,  to  force  him  to  give  them  provisions.  The  commander 
opposed,  as  far  as  he  could,  a  step  the  results  of  which  he 
foresaw ;  but  men  driven  by  hunger  listen  to  nothing.  Lau- 
donniere accordingly  seeing  that  furthtir  resistance  would 
only  endanger  his  own  authority ;  seeing,  too,  that  his  best 
soldiers  had  fallen  into  a  languor  which  incapacitated  them 
from  the  least  service  ;  that  diseases,  caused  by  improper 
food,  were  daily  increasing,  and  that  many  were  already 
dead,  beheld  himself  forced  to  undertake  the  execution  of 
a  project  which  he  detested,  and  from  which  he  augured 
only  evil.' 

His  presentiments  were  not  unfounded :  Outina  was  car- 
ried off,  but  nothing  was  gained  thereby.  His  whole  tribe 
flew  to  arms,  and  the  French  saw  themselves  on  the  brink 
of  a  war,  which  they  were  in  no  state  to  sustain.  They 
had  to  negotiate,  and  restore  Outina  to  liberty  for  a  trifle. 
They  soon  felt  the  evil  consequences  of  a  step,  to  the  in- 
justice and  danger  of  which,  despair  had  closed  the  eyes 
of  a  famished  crowd.  The  Indians  attacked  Laudonniere 
on  his  retreat,  killed  two  of  his  men,  and  wounded  more 
than  twenty,  recapturing  also  the  small  quantity  of  provi- 

>  Le  Moyne,  Brevis  Narratio,  p.  31 ;  Laudonniere,  p.  163. 


te 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


177 


sions  given  for  Outina's  ranflom.  The  actio:,  lasted  almost     1565. 
the  whole  day,  July  27th,  the  Indians  displaying  a  skill  "-""v— ' 
and  resolution  of  which  they  had  been  deemed  incapable.    Jniy  27. 
As  soon  as  they  saw  our  musketeers  ready  to  fire,  they  fell 
flat  on  the  earth  with  incredible  celerity,  and  in  fact  lost 
very  few.    In  this  battle  d'Ottigny  and  d'Erlach  performed 
actions  worthy  of  a  more  just  and  noble  expedition ;  and 
but  for  them,  Laudonniere,  who  lik»  wise  displayed  much 
intrepidity,  would  have  had  great  difficulty  in  extricating 
himself  from  this  false  step.' 

A  pretty  good  supply  of  millet,'  which  one  of  the  two  The  Eng- 
le  Yasseurs  brought  in  from  the  Somme  lUyer  soon  after  Florid*, 
his  return  to  Caroline,  comforted  him  a  little  in  his 
misfortune;  but  as  he  durst  not  flatter  himself  that  he 
would  often  receive  such  succor,  he  resolved  to  profit  by 
this  to  return  to  France.  He  was  already  beginning  to 
make  all  arrangements  for  this  voyage,  when  on  the  3d  Angost  8. 
of  August  four  sail  appeared  in  sight  of  Caroline.  The 
spectacle  excited  lively  joy,  no  one  doubting  but  that  the 
vessels  came  from  France.  But  the  French  were  not  long 
VL  the  pleasing  error ;  these  were  English  vessels,  seeking 
water,  which  they  needed  extremely.  They  were  com- 
manded by  John  Hawkins,  a  very  upright  officer;  who,  far 
from  taking  any  unfair  advantage  of  the  wretched  condition 
in  which  he  found  the  French,  did,  on  the  contrary,  all  in 
his  power  to  aid  them,  especially  when  he  found  them  to 
be  Protestants.* 

He    began   by   sending  to    ask  the  commandant  of  what  00- 
Caroline  permission  to  take  in  water ;  and  obtaining  this  t^/gQ  them 
without  difficulty,  he  came  alone  and  unarmed  to  visit    r°eneh! 
him.    Laudonniere  received  him  as  his  courtesy  required ; 
he  regaled  his  guest  with  some  poultry,  which  he  had  re- 


'  Laudonniere,  p.  1G4.    Hatvkins       '  Maize.     See  Histoire  Merveil- 


Bays  they  had  not  forty  men  imhnrt, 
the  Indians  aiming  at  the  exposed 
parts  of  the  French,  seeing  the  armor 
proof  to  their  shafts.  Hakluyt,  iii. 
Vol.  I.— 13 


lense  in  Temauz's  Recueil,  p.  263. 

» Le  Moyne,  p.  21 ;  Laudonniere, 
p.  170,  176 ;  Hawkins  in  Hakluyt, 
iii.,  p.  618. 


178 


mSTOBY  OP  NEW  FBANCB. 


!<' 


iS^S-  served  for  the  most  pressing  need  ;  and  Hawkins,  on  his 
side,  supplied  the  bread  and  wine,  which  not  one  of  the 
French,  including  even  the  commandant,  had  touched  for 
six  or  seven  months.  The  perfect  understanding  between 
men  who  seemed  to  the  Indians  to  be  fellow-countrymen, 
rendered  those  savages  more  humane ;  and  either  from  fear 
or  interest,  they  became  more  friendly,  bringing  in  provi- 
sions from  all  sides. 

Laudonniore  had  already  purchased  suppUes  from  the 
English,  as  well  as  munitions  and  clothes ;'  Hawkins  not 
only  rating  the  various  articles  low,  but  adding  many  pres- 
ents.* He  had,  moreover,  offered  to  carry  him  and  his 
whole  party  to  France.  A  slight  distrust,  perhaps,  or 
some  other  unknown  reason,  prevented  his  accepting  this 
offer ;  but  as  he  was  satisfied  that  neither  the  court  nor 
Admiral  Coligni  took  any  further  interest  in  Florida,  he 
steadily  continued  his  endeavors  to  make  the  Spanish 
brigantine  already  mentioned  seaworthy,  resolved  to  em- 
bark as  soon  as  possible. 

Hawkins,  from  whom  he  did  not  conceal  his  project, 
visited  this  vessel,  and  found  it  very  poor :  he  renewed 
his  offer,  and  as  Laudonniere  persisted  in  his  refusal, 
pressed  him  to  purchase  one  of  his  vessels.  The  com- 
mandant consented  to  this  the  less  reluctantly,'  inasmuch 
as  the  garrison  declared  positively  that  they  would  no 
longer  delay  their  departure  from  a  land  where  they  were 
ever  in  danger  of  perishing  of  hunger.  Strange,  that 
among  all  the  means  of  subsistence  which  the  extreme  want 
of  provisions  had  suggested,  it  seems  to  have  occurred 
to  no  one,  to  prevent  a  relapse  into  that  wretched  state 
by  cultivating  the  ground !'  So  difficult  is  idleness  to  over- 
come when  it  becomes  habitual.   They  had,  moreover,  lost 


>  Hakluyt,  Ui.,  S18.  He  furnished 
them  twenty  barrela  of  meal  and  four 
pipes  of  beans.  Laudonniere,  p.  176, 
adds  fifty  pair  of  slioea,  salt,  and 
wax. 


'  Laudonniere  mentions  these  with 
warm  expressions  of  gratitude. 

>  He  paid  for  it  in  cannon  and 
powder. 

*  Hawlcins  justly  censures  them. 


w 


I 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


179 


all  hope  of  diflcoTering  mines  in  Florida,  and  they  were     1565. 
disgusted  with  a  country  where  they  could  not  expect  to  ^— "v""^ 
live  at  their  ease,  except  by  making  it  available  through 
painful  toil. 

Meanwhile,  the  EngUsh  set  sail,  a  few  days  after  Haw-  Ribaut'a  ar- 
kins'  delivery  of  one  of  his  vessels  to  de  Laudonniere,  and  Florid*. 
the  French  thought  only  of  the  preparations  for  their 
voyage.  All  was  ready  by  the  15th  of  August,  and  they 
were  merely  waiting  a  favorable  wind  to  weigh ;  but,  un- 
fortunately, this  desired  wind  came  only  on  the  28th.' 
They  profited  by  it,  in  all  haste,  and  were  actually 
weighing  anchor,  when  several  sail  were  discovered.  Lau- 
donniere immediately  sent  a  bark  to  reconnoitre  ;  but  the 
boat  having  reached  the  flag-ship  of  the  strangers,  did  not 
return,  which  set  all  thinking.  Laudonniere,  without  de- 
lay, re-entered  his  fort,  and  set  all  to  work  with  extreme 
diligence,  to  put  himself  in  a  position  to  hold  out,  at  least 
for  a  time. 

This  was  no  easy  matter,  as  they  had,  before  evacuating 
the  place,  almost  completely  ruined  its  defences,  for  fear 
that  the  Spaniards  or  English  should  plant  themselves 
there,  or  even  the  Lidians  occupy  it,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
return  of  the  French.*  The  next  morning  seven  vessels 
were  seen  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  full  of  armed  men,  August  29. 
with  helmets  on  their  heads,  and  arquebuses  ready.  They 
sailed  up,  till  they  came  opposite  Caroline,  in  order  of 
battle,  without  making  any  reply  to  the  hail  of  the  sentries. 
Some  muskets  were  fired  at  them,  but  they  were  out  of 
range.  The  artillery  was  about  to  be  opened  upon  them, 
when  some  one  rising,  cried  out :  "  It  is  Mr.  de  Eibaut." ' 

Great  surprise  and  joy,  not  unmingled  with  fear,  reigned  object  of 
in  the  fort.     Laudonniere  supposed  himself  beyond  re-   '*  "»y*B®- 


W 


■  Laudonniere,  p.  178.  demolishing  the  house  and  fort,  and 

*  Le  Moyne,  Brevis  Narratio,  p.  33.  that  he  made  show  of  doing  so. 

Laudonniere  (p.  178),  says  the  Indiana  'Laudonniere,  p.   181;    Histoire 

asked  him  to  prevent  his  soldiers'  Mervellleuse,  p.  358. 


180 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  PRANCE. 


He«ds  of  ao- 

CQMtiOD 

against 

Laudon- 

niere. 


1  S<5S'  proach ;  but  it  is  only  at  God's  tribunal  that  the  testimony 
of  conscience  gives  perfect  assurance ;  and  this  conduct  in 
a  man  with  whom  he  had  always  maintained  a  good  under- 
standing, left  him  no  room  to  doubt  that  he  had  been  mis- 
represented to  the  admiral,  or  the  king  himself.  He  soon 
learned  from  Mr.  de  Bibaut's  lips,  that  his  fear  was  not 
unfounded ;  for  on  asking  him  privately  for  a  frank  ex- 
planation, that  commander  detailed  to  him  at  length  all 
that  had  been  said  and  written  to  the  court  against  him. 

The  principal  charges  were,  that  he  so  acted  the  mon- 
arch, and  governed  so  tyrannicaUy,  that  there  was  no 
longer  any  one  in  Florida  willing  to  serve  under  him  ;  that 
he  regarded  the  country  as  his  conquest  and  domain  ;  that 
no  time  was  to  be  lost,  if  they  wished  to  hold  it  for  the 
king ;  that  it  would  require  even  then  a  considerable  force ; 
and  that  the  least  thing  to  be  feared,  in  case  his  majesty 
deferred  these  steps,  was,  that  the  French  in  Florida  would 
right  themselves,  as  they  did  at  Charles  Fort,  under  Cap- 
tain Albert,  and  then  seek  impunity  for  their  crime  in  re- 
volt, by  giving  themselves  to  some  other  power.  In  fine, 
his  very  loyalty  was  assailed.' 

These  were,  in  fact,  the  reasons  which  induced  the  king 
to  fit  out  seven  ships  under  the  Sieur  de  Ribaut.    The 
reputation  raised  for  Florida  in  France,  the  report  of  the 
large  expedition,  and  confidence  in  the  commander,  had 
caused  a  real  eagerness  to  join  it,  more  especially  as  peace 
left  a  great  many  gentlemen  and  officers  unemployed,  who 
were  delighted  to  find  this  opportunity  of  reaping  the  fruit 
of  their  past  services.    It  will  be  seen,  too,  in  the  sequel, 
that  Admiral  Cohgny  was  not  so  attentive  this  time  to  ex- 
clude CathoUcs  as  in  his  other  expeditions,  at  least  among 
the  soldiers  and  sailors. 
Perils  of  the     The  expedition  was  not,  at  the  outset,  fortunate :  while  at 
reachfng^*  auchor  at  the  roadstead  of  Dieppe,'  the  fleet  experienced 
°"  *'    such  a  gale,  that  it  was  forced  to  run  before  the  wind,  and 


1  Laudonniere,  pp.  181-7, 


'  May  23. 


5  I 


il 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


181 


W  ■ 
I  I. 


\ 


would  have  perished  bad  it  not  made  the  port  of  Havre  de     is^5- 
Grace,  and  there  shielded  itself  from  the  storm.'    It  sailed   -^  ▼  "-' 
thence  the  14th  of  June ;  but  a  second  storm  forced  it 
to  put  in  at  Portsmouth.'    It  then  lost  oyer  two  months 
in  reaching  Florida ;  and  Mr.  de  Bibaut  amused  himself, 
for  another  two  months  and  more,  in  different  places 
along  the  coast  before  entering  May  Biver.    Perhaps  he 
wished  to  make  sure  of  the  Indians  of  those  parts,  in  case 
he  met  with  any  resistance   from  the  commandant  of 
Caroline.    Be  that  as  it  may,  Bibaut  had  no  sooner  in-    Laadon- 
formed  Laudonniere  of  the  suspicions  of  the  court,  than  he  es  to  return 
was  convinced  by  the  latter's  replies,  .nd  the  testimony  of 
the  principal  officers,  that  the  king  and  the  admiral  had 
been  imposed  upon.    He  accordingly  omitted  no  induce- 
ment to  persuade  Laudonniere  to  remain  with  him  in 
Florida,  even  offering  him  command  of  Caroline,  he  him- 
self settling  elsewhere  ;  but  he  found  Laudonniere  firmly 
resolved  to  return  to  France  to  defend  his  conduct,  and  he 
pressed  the  matter  no  further.    He  gave  him  a  letter  from 
Coligni,  in  which  that  nobleman,  without  alluding  to  the 
accusations  against  him,  invited  him  to  come  and  lay  be- 
fore the  king  and  coimcil  the  means  best  adapted,  in  his 
judgment,  to  place  the  new  colony  on  a  solid  basis.* 

Meanwhile,  at  the  first  report  among  the  Indians  of  the  Bibaut'a  re- 
arrival  of  the  French  fleet,  they  came  in  great  numbers  to  the  Indiana, 
Caroline.    Some  of  them  recognized  Bibaut  by  his  beard,  ""offers*" 
which  he  always  wore  very  long.  They  testified  their  joy  at 
his  return,  and  made  him  many  presents ;  among  the  rest, 
a  large  piece  of  ore,  which  proved  to  be  fine  gold.    They 
added  that,  if  he  desired,  they  would  take  him  to  some 
mountains  where  this  metal  abounded.     Bibaut  was  re- 
solved, once  for  all,  to  test  the  truth  on  this  important 
point ;  but  he  soon  had  something  to  attend  to  very  differ-  , 

'  Histoire   Merreilleuse   in   Ter-  '  Tbjy  Bailed,  June  14,  from  the 

naux'B  Recueil,  p.  255;  De  Qallo-  Ide  r  f  Wight,  and  did  not  put  back.                    ■ 

rum  Expeditione  in  Novee  Novi  Or-  See  aUhorities  in  last  note, 

bis  Historise  (Geneva,  1578),  p.  437.  •  Lau'lonniere,  pp.  183-4 . 


Ml 


s^«m 


A  Spaniah 

*()uadron  Iti 

light  of  the 

French 

fleet. 

Sept.  4. 


Who  he 
was. 


Ocoasion  of 
hie  voyage. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 

eut  from  a  visit  to  the  mountaius  of  Apalache.  He  had 
sounded  the  river,  and  found  that  there  was  not  water 
enough  for  his  four  large  vessels  to  enter ;  he  was  obliged, 
therefore,  to  leave  them  at  the  roadstead,  and  land  in 
boats  the  provisions  needed  in  Caroline.  After  this,  he 
proceeded  to  repair  the  fort ;  and,  as  he  set  almost  all 
his  force  to  work,  the  operations  advanced  considerably  in 
a  few  days.' 

They  were  not  yet  completed  when,  on  the  4tli  of  Sep- 
tember, about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  six  Spanish 
ships  anchored  in  the  roadstead  quite  near  the  four  French 
ships  that  had  remained  there.'  This  squadron  was  com- 
manded by  Don  Pedro  Menendez  de  Avilez,  knight  of 
Santiago,  commander  of  Santa  Cruz  de  la  Zarza ;  but  to 
tinderstand  what  followed  we  must  trace  matters  back. 

This  officer,  whom  the  historians  of  his  nation  portray 
to  us  as  one  of  the  greatest  men  whom  Spain  has  had  in 
the  New  "World,  while  at  the  court  of  Spain,  involved  in 
difficulties  raised  by  his  enemies,  was  greatly  astonished 
to  receive  from  the  very  lips  of  his  royal  master,  Philip  11., 
an  order  to  sail  to  Florida,  survey  all  the  coasts  accurate- 
ly, and  draw  up  an  exact  map,  to  be  placed  in  the  hands 
of  all  pilots  thereafter  proceeding  to  America,  inasmuch  as 
the  frequent  shipwrecks  in  the  Bahama  Channel  and  the 
neighboring  coasts  were  caused  solely  by  the  scanty  in- 
formation which  they  had  cared  to  acquire  of  the  land.' 

So  unexpected  an  order  gave  heart  to  Menendez,  who 
believed  himself  in  disgrace.  But  the  commission  which  the 
king  gave  him  seemed  to  him  too  restricted ;  and  to  en- 
large it,  he  represented  io  his  majesty  that  he  knew 
nothing  more  important  for  his  service  than  the  conquest 


1  Laudonniere,  p.  187  ;  Hiatoire 
Merveilleuae,  p.  26S  ;  De  Gallorum 
Expeditione,  p.  445. 

'  The  Histoire  MervelUenae  says, 
8d  September ;  De  Gallorum  Expe- 
ditione, tlie  13th;  Laudonniere  (p. 


189),  the  4th.    Barcia  does  not  state 
the  day  precisely. 

'  Barcia,  Elnsayo  Cronologico,  para 
la  Historia  General  de  la  Florida,  pp. 
57-65. 


HIBTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


188 


and  sottleniont  of  Florida;  thnt  to  hiH  'mowledge,  thoee  1565. 
iinmenHe  rogions  enjoyed  a  very  healthy  climate  and  a  ^"*"v-~^ 
moHt  fertile  Hoil ;  but  oven  if  there  were  no  solid  advantage 
to  be  derived  by  the  State  from  the  posseflsion  of  this 
beautiful  country,  it  was  inhabited  by  tribes  sunk  in  the 
deepest  shades  of  heathendom;  that  his  majesty  was 
boiud  in  conscience,  as  lawful  sovereign  of  all  Florida,  to 
afford  them  a  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  since  it  was  on 
this  condition  that  the  Sovereign  Pontiffs  had  given  his 
ancestors  the  domain  of  the  New  World.  "  For  myself, 
sire,"  he  added,  "  the  bUndness  of  so  many  thousands  of 
idolaters  has  touched  me  so  sensibly,  that  of  aU  employ- 
ments with  which  your  majesty  could  honor  me,  there  is 
not  one  to  which  I  would  not  prefer  that  of  conquering 
Florida,  and  peopling  it  with  true  Christians.'" 

The  king  praised  his  zeal  and  accepted  his  offers.  It  Conditioni 
was  arranged  that  he  was  to  convey  to  Florida  five  hun-  treats  with 
dred  men,  with  provisions  for  a  year,  at  his  own  expense,  '  '*  "*■ 
without  his  majesty  or  his  successors  being  held  to  make 
him  any  return ;  that  he  was  to  conquer  Florida,  and 
make  an  exact  chart  of  all  the  coasts,  within  three  years ; 
that  besides  the  five  hundred  men  intended  to  settle  Flor- 
ida, which  number  was  to  comprise  one  hundred  husband- 
men and  four  Jesuit  priests,  he  should  carry  over  horses 
and  mares,  and  all  kinds  of  domestic  animals,  large  and 
small ;  that  he  should  establish  a  royal  audience"  there,  of 
which  he  was  to  be  alguazil  mayor ;  that  he  should  found 
two  or  three  towns,  each  of  a  hundred  settlers,  to  be  de- 
fended by  good  forts ;  that  he  should  be  at  liberty  to  go 
at  pleasure  to  Hispaniola,  Porto  Rico,  Cuba,  and  even 
come  to  Spain,  without  paying  duties,  either  on  provisions, 
supplies,  or  merchandise,  except  gold,  silver,  and  precious 
stones ;  that  during  six  years  he  might  fit  out  two  galleons 
of  five  or  six  hundred  tons,  and  two  pataches  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  or  two  hundred ;   that  all  the  prizes  he 


'  Barcin,  BnBoyo  Cronolog.,  p.  65. 


'  lb.,  p.  66. 


ill 


184 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1565. 


B 


might  make  with  the  vesHelH  ghould  belong  to  him  ;  thiit 
he  Hhoiild  enjoy  the  perpetual  hereditary  title  of  Adelan- 
tado  of  Florida,  with  the  same  pre-eminence  and  preroga- 
tives enjoyed  by  those  of  Castile,  and  two  thounand  ducats 
income,  chargeable  on  the  revenue  of  the  province;  and 
that  such  son  or  son-in-law  as  he  should  appobt  his  succes- 
sor, should  enjoy  the  same  privileges ;  that  he  should  have 
one-fifteenth  of  all  that  accrued  to  his  majesty — revenues, 
mines,  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and  fruits  of  the  earth — in  all  his 
conquests.'  Finally,  on  the  22d  of  March,  in  that  year,  the 
king  delivered  to  him  a  commission  as  captain-general  of 
the  fleet  intended  for  Florida. 

While  this  was  in  hand,  news  for  the  first  time  reached 

Spain  that  the  French  Huguenots  had  for  three  years 

been  settled  in  Florida,  had  built  forts  there,  and  were 

on  the  point  of  sending  them  a  heavy  re-enforcement 

of  men,  provisions,  and  munitions.    The  adelantado  had 

gone  on  a  tour  through  Biscay  and  Asturias,  his  native 

place,  to  induce  his  relatives  and  friends  to  advance  him 

the  money  and  securities  necessary  for  the  expenses  of  his 

undertaking.    He  was  summoned  to  court,  and  repaired 

there  with  all  diligence,  leavin^  his  affairs  in  the  hands  of 

Stephen  de  las  Alah,   and  appointing  Peter  Menendez 

Marquez,  his  nephew,  admiral  of  the  fleet,  with  orders  to 

sail  forthwith  to  the  Canaries  and  await  him  there.' 

Ttie  ro-en-     On  arriving  at  court,  he  heard  the  intelligence  just  re- 

preparlog  ceived  from  France;  and  the  king  told  him  that,  as  he 

for  Florida  would  require  additional  force  to  expel  the  heretics  from 

''Ml^rid."  ^oi'ida,  it  was  imjust  that  this  increased  expense  should 

adopted    ^*^  ^^  ^^ »  *^**  ^®  would  accordingly  issue  orders,  so 

that  he  should  find  ready  in  the  Indies  two  huLdred 

horses,  four  hundred  foot-soldiers,  and  three  ships  of  his 

fleet,  of  which  the  pay  for  four  months,  with  provisions, 

munitions,  artillery,  and  all  things  needed,  should  be  fur- 


'  See  Patent  as  Adelantado,  dated 
March  23,  in  Smith,  Coleccion  dq 
DocumentOB,  i.,  13. 


*  B&rcia,   En  say  o  Cronologico,  p 


67. 


V" 


BISTORT  OF  NEW  PRANCB. 


niHhed  by  thfl  royal  treasury.  Muuoudoz  I  bg  then  tjdj. 
roprcHontotl  to  tho  king  that  theHo  now  (lirootions  would  "  ■"  r  "^  * 
greatly  delay  liin  arrival  in  Florida,  and  that  while  he  wan 
engaged  in  making  hin  pruparatiouH  at  HiHnaniola  and 
elsewhere,  the  French  heretics  would  have  all  time  to  for- 
tify their  post,  form  alliances  with  the  Floridians,  and 
bring  them  under  rule  ;  that  it  seemed  to  him  more  advan- 
tageous for  his  majesty's  service,  that  they  should  give 
him  two  galleys  and  two  of  the  galliots  which  were  under 
the  command  of  Don  Alvaro  Bazan ;  that  with  this  re- 
enforoement  he  would  sail  with  the  first  fair  wind,  and  an- 
ticipate any  re-enforcements  from  France  ;  that  he  would 
enter  the  nearest  port  to  that  occupied  by  the  French, 
fortify  himself  there,  win  the  neighboring  caciques,  so  that 
when  his  cavalry  arrived  in  the  spring  he  would  be  in  a 
position  to  take  the  field,  and  attack  the  enemy  to  advan- 
tage or  force  him  to  leave  the  country.' 

His  project  was  approved  ;  but,  as  the  Turks  were  then  Mooend*! 
threatening  Malta,  the  Spanish  monarch  did  not  deem  it  to'ict, 
advisable  to  weaken  his  naval  power,  and  he  gave  orders 
to  supply  otherwise  what  the  captain-general  required. 
His  orders,  although  positive,  were  not,  however,  fully 
executed.  Menendez  experienced  at  the  hands  of  the 
officers  of  the  Council  of  the  Indies  much  vexatious  oppo- 
sition, and  was  not  able  to  sail  till  the  29th  of  June.  His 
fleet  was  composed  of  the  galleon  San  Pelayo,  of  nine 
hundred  and  ninety-six  tons,  and  of  ten  ships,  the  force 
of  which  amounted  to  nine  hundred  and  ninety-five  men, 
including  soldiers  and  sailors,  four  secular  priests,  one 
hundred  and  seventeen  officers  and  mechanics,  and  a 
large  supply  of  artillery,  a  part  of  which  was  intended  for 
the  forts  to  be  erected  in  Florida.  All  this  was  at  the 
expense  of  the  adelautado,  except  two  hundred  and 
ninety-nine  soldiers,  ninety-five  sailors,  and  the  chief 
pilot.    The  king  furnished  the  San  Pelayo." 


■  Barcla,  Engayo  Cronolog.,  p.  67. 


« lb.,  p.  68. 


^    ,,-,--, 


186 


1565. 


His  fleet 
dispersed. 


HISTORY  OS*  NEW  PRANCE. 

This  fleet  left  the  port  of  Cadiz  on  the  29th  of  June,  but 
a  violent  storm  soon  drove  it  back,  to  the  chagrin  of  the 
captain-general,  who  based  his  hopes  of  success  in  his 
expedition  on  his  celerity ;  but  he  was  somewhat  consoled 
by  a  re-enforcement  of  men,  which  this  delay  brought  in  ; 
so  that,  on  reaching  the  Canaries,  his  force  consisted  of 
one  thousand  five  himdred  and  four  persons,  among  whom 
were  several  gentlemen  of  the  best  families  of  Biscay, 
Galicia,  and  Asturias.  Two  days  after  his  departure  from 
Cadiz,  Captain  Luna  arrived  there  with  ninety  men,  and 
embarked  on  a  caravel,  which  was  furnished  to  him  all 
equipped.  On  the  other  hand,  Stephen  de  las  Alas, 
Menendez'  heutenant,  embarked  in  the  ports  of  Aviles 
and  Gijon  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven  sailors  and  soldiers 
in  three  vessels,  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Peter 
Menendez  Marquez,  who  was  also  appointed  the  king's 
treasiu-er-general  in  Florida. 

In  fine,  as  they  had  given  this  expedition  all  the  air  of 
a  holy  war  undertaken  against  the  heretics,  in  concert 
with  the  king  of  France,  who  was  said  to  disavow  the  set- 
tlement of  his  subjects  of  the  pretendedly  reformed  religion 
in  Florida,  so  many  oflTered  to  take  part  in  this  species  of 
crusade  that  all  the  forces  of  the  captain-general  united 
amounted  to  two  thousand  six  hundred  men,  among  whom 
were  twelve  Franciscans,  eleven  priests,  and  one  lay 
brother,  a  religious  of  Tia  Merced,  five  ecclesiastics,  and 
eight  Jesuits.  So  that,  with  what  Menendez  had  received 
from  the  king,  he  found  that  he  had  expended  in  less  than 
fourteen  months  a  million  of  ducats  of  his  own. 

He  did  not  stop  at  the  Canaries,  but  he  had  scarcely  set 
sail  when  a  storm  scattered  his  fleet.  The  flag-ship  and  a 
patache  disappeared,  a  large  sloop  was  forced  to  put  back 
because  it  leaked  at  every  seam,  the  ships  under  Stephen 
de  las  Alas  had  taken  another  course,  and  there  remained 
witli  the  captain-general  only  five,  which  a  second  storm, 
that  occuiTed  on  the  20tli  of  July,  forced  to  throw  a  part 
of  their  cargo  into  the  sea.    On  the  9th  of  August,  Menen- 


•    l» 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


187 


f 


dez  landed  in  Porto  Rico,  after  taking  in  fresh  supplies  at     1565. 
Hispaniola  on  his  way.    He  here  enrolled  forty-three  men,  ^-""v— -' 
and  learned  that  Mr.  de  Ribaut  had  outstripped  him ;  but 
that  it  was  perceived  that  that  commander  had  amused 
himself  for  over  two  months  in  different  places  on  the 
Florida  coast.' 

Menendez  then  found  himself  reduced  to  a  third  part  of  He  deiiber- 
his  force,  and  most  of  his  soldiers  were  without  any  ex-  course. 
perience ;  but,  as  all  his  ofl&cers  were  men  of  resolution, 
he  called  a  council  of  war,  to  which  he  represented  that 
he  was  led  into  this  expedition  neither  by  interest  nor 
ambition,  but  purely  by  zeal  for  God's  glory;  that  the 
Almighty,  by  permitting  only  five  vessels  of  the  fleet  with 
which  he  had  left  Teneriffe  to  keep  him  company,  seemed 
to  desire  that  the  success  of  so  glorious  an  expedition 
should  be  attributed  only  to  the  invincible  power  of  his 
arm.  His  opinion,  therefore,  was,  that  they  should  sail 
without  fi^rther  delay  to  Florida,  where  he  hoped  to  sur- 
prise the  heretics  before  the  expected  re-enforcements 
reached  them,  and  thus  gain  a  complete  victory  over  them. 

He,  nevertheless,  requested  the  opinion  of  the  council 
on  his  resolution.  The  maestro  del  campo,  Peter  de  Val- 
dez,  his  son-in-law,  spoke  first,  and  concurred  with  him. 
Most  of  the  others  coincided ;  but  some,  headed  by  Cap- 
tain John  de  San  Vicente,  who  meditated  passing  to  Peru 
or  Mexico,  set  forth  that  to  attempt  to  carry  out  the  enter- 
prise rashly  with  his  small  force,"  was  to  expose  himself  to 
an  evident  risk  of  failure.  At  last,  however,  as  they  saw 
the  majority  persist  in  the  contrary  opinion,  they  made  a 
show  of  yielding. 

The  adelantado,  full  of  joy,  set  sail  again,  and  on  the  He  discov- 
28th  of  August  came  in  sight  of  Florida.'    His  difficulty 
was  to  know  whether  he  was  north  or  south  of  the  French ; 

'  Barcia,  p.  69 ;  Mendoza,  pp.  165-  Letter  to  the   King,  Parkman,  p. 

181.  96. 

'  Five  hundred  soldiers,  two  hun-  '  Mendoza  in  Temaus's  Recueil, 

dred  sailors,  one  hundred  colonists,  p.  193 ;  Barcia,  p.  70. 


188  HTPTOBr  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 

1565.  and  in  this  uncertainty,  they  did  nothing  for  four  days  but 
^-^T-^'  tack  on  and  oflf  shore.  On  the  fifth  day  the  adelantado 
perceived  some  Indians  on  the  shore,  and  sent  his  maestro 
del  campo,  with  twenty  arquebusiers,  to  converse  with 
them.  As  soon  as  these  savages  saw  the  boats  approach, 
they  prepared  to  oppose  their  landing ;  then  gradually  fell 
back,  keeping  their  bows  bent.  Valdez  durst  not  pursue 
them,  for  fear  of  ambuscade  ;  but  f.s  he  was  unwilling  to 
return  without  some  tidings  of  the  French,  he  called  one 
of  his  men,  who  had  deserved  death,  and  been  reserved 
for  use  on  such  occasions,  and  ordered  him  to  lay  down 
his  arms,  take  some  goods,  and  foUow  the  Indians, — prom- 
ising him  pardon  if  he  got  from  these  Indians  any  light  on 
the  point  they  wished. 
Hegetstid-  The  soldier  discharged  his  task  perfectly,  and  learned 
^anob.  *  that  the  French  were  twenty  leagues  oflf  to  the  northward. 
He  even  induced  some  Indians  to  follow  him  to  the  spot 
where  the  maestro  del  campc  had  halted,  and  they  were 
well  received.  They  asked  him  where  the  general  was, 
and  Valdez  replied  that  he  had  remained  on  board,  invit- 
ing them  to  go  oflf  and  meet  him ;  but  they  declined,  adding, 
that  if  he  would  land  and  rest  among  them,  he  would  have 
no  grounds  to  repent  of  it.  On  this  reply,  Valdez  showed 
his  friendship  towards  them,  and  re-embarked.  The  cap- 
tain-general, on  his  report,  did  not  hesitate  to  laud  ;  and 
taking  fifty  arquebusiers,  started  with  them  in  boats.  The 
Indians  no  sooner  saw  him  approach  the  shore,  than  they 
threw  down  their  arms  and  advanced,  singing  and  raising 
their  hands  to  heaven.  Meuendez  caressed  them  much, 
and  distributed  among  them  small  presents,  which  they 
received  with  gratitude,  and  gave  them  a  meal ;  but  he 
could  elicit  nothing  more  than  what  they  had  informed  the 
maestro  del  campo. 

He  accordingly  returned  to  his  ship,  set  saU,  and  after 
making  about  eight  leagues,  on  the  28th  of  August,  found 
himself  at  the  mouth  of  Dolphin  Kiver.  It  seemed  to  him 
very  beautiful,  and  he  named  it  St.  Augustine,  the  festival 


It 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


.'31^9' 


of  that  holy  doctor  being  celebrated  on  the  day.'  He  did  1565. 
not  stop,  however,  but  kept  on  his  way  ;  and  the  next  day  ^— ~v— ' 
perceived  four  ships  at  anchor,  from  which  he  concluded 
that  the  French  had  received  the  expected  re-enforcements. 
He  at  once  convened  his  council,  which  advised  him  to 
return  to  Hispaniola,  and  wait  till  his  whole  fleet  had  got 
together.  This  resolution  chagrined  him  all  the  more, 
fi'om  the  fact  that  he  had  been  discovered,  that  there  was 
no  wind,  that  his  ships  were  in  a  very  bad  state,  and  that 
he  had  every  thing  to  fear,  if  pursued.' 

He  accordingly  represented  that  it  seemed  to  him  more  He  resolvan 
advisable  to  surprise  the  four  French  vessels  anchored  at  the  French 
the  roadstead,  where  they  had  remained  apparently  be-  ***'°*' 
cause  they  could  not  enter  the  river  on  which  the  fort 
stood ;  that  doubtless  they  were  but  poorly  manned,  as 
their  commander,  believing  them  in  perfect  security,  could 
have  left  only  a  part  of  the  crew  on  board  ;  that  after  tak- 
ing them,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  his  entering  the  St. 
Augustine  and  fortifying  his  position,  while  some  of  his 
vessels  went  to  Hispaniola  to  explain  his  situation  to 
such  of  his  fleet  as  had  reached  there,  and  to  take  in 
necessary  provisions  and  munitions  ;  that  when  all  his 
forces  had  united  at  St.  Augustine  Biver,  he  could  attack 
the  French  by  sea  and  land, — in  which  case,  after  the  loss 
of  their  largest  ships,  they  would  be  able  neither  to  resist 
so  powerful  an  attack  nor  even  return  to  France. 

These  reasons  were  deemed  convincing,  and  they  con-  wuat  paM 
sidered  the  project  of  the  captaiu.-general  worthy  of  his       oil. 


'i 


s 


'  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologioo,  pp. 
70,  71.  Mendoza  gives  it  differently, 
and  apparently  more  accurately. 
Menendez  madr  the  coast,  August 
28,  St.  Augustine's  day,  off  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  John ;  but  not  landing, 
did  not  detect  the  presence;  of  the 
French.  Ha  coasted  along  ;  and 
though  he  took  two  Frenchmen  pris- 
oners, was  unable  to  find  the  French 
fort,    On  the  30th,  he  landed  fifty 


men,  who  penetrated  to  a  town  four 
leagues  inland  ;  and  they  being  well 
received,  Menendez  himself  landed 
on  the  Ist  September,  and  after  mak- 
ing the  Indians  presents,  learned  of 
th(  ui,  through  the  French  as  inter- 
preters, that  the  French  poet  was 
only  five  leagues  off.  Mondoza,  p. 
196. 

'  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologioo,  p. 
74, 


mj 
if 


I 


'ii\ 


190 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


I    I 


1565.  coiirage  and  prudence.  All  sail  was  instantly  spread; 
and  the  squadron  was  only  three  leagues  from  the  French 
ships,  when  a  perfect  calm,  followed  by  rain  and  thunder, 
prevented  the  advance  of  the  Spaniards.  About  nine 
o'clock  in  the  evening  the  sky  cleared,  and  a  favorable 
wind  sprang  up ;  but  the  adelantado  reflected,  that  with 
all  his  exertion,  it  would  be  night  before  he  could  reach 
the  French,  who,  in  case  they  were  too  weak  to  fight, 
would  perhaps  grapple,  so  as  to  bum  the  Spanish  ships, 
even  at  the  loss  of  their  own,  and  escape  to  the  shore  in 
their  boats.  He  had,  moreover,  remarked,  that  every 
morning  till  noon  the  tide  was  low  on  the  coast  and  at  the 
mouth  of  the  rivers,  which  all  have  bars ;  and  on  this 
observation  he  resolved  to  move  as  near  the  enemy  as  pos- 
sible, then  to  ride  at  anchor,  in  c  ier  to  be  in  their  midst 
at  daybreak,  when  they  would  not  be  able  to  manoeuvre 
or  receive  aid  from  the  vessels  already  at  anchor  off  Car- 
oline. 

This  plan  adopted,  and  orders  given  in  consequence,  the 
adelantado  advanced  under  easy  sail,  till  about  half-past 
eleven  :  he  then  cast  anchor,  and  run  out  his  cable,  so  that 
he  was  soon  athwart  the  French  flag-ship.'  Our  historians 
say  that  he  asked  after  Mr.  de  Ribaut  and  his  chief  offi- 
cers, naming  them  all ;  that  he  then  declared  that  his  ar- 
rival in  that  harbor  should  not  disquiet  the  French,'  and 
that  he  had,  indeed,  no  design  to  stop  ;  that  in  fact  he  got 
under  way  at  daybreak,  but  instead  of  standing  oflf,  he 
bore  straight  Aovm  on  the  French  ships,  which  had  barely 
time  to  cut  their  cables  and  sail  off  with  all  speed." 

A  Spanish  author,  Don  Andre  Gonzalez  de  Barcia,  the 


'  Bnrcia,  Eosayo  Cronologico,  para 
la  Historia  de  Ih  Florida,  p.  75.  Men- 
doza  eays  two  hours  after  sunset  (p. 
198),  Challeux.  nine  o'clock. 

»  Laudonniere  so  states  in  p.  189  ; 
but  the  statement  is  not  sustained 
by  the  Histoire  Morveilleuse  (p.  206) 
oT  De  Qallorura  Expeditione  (p.  445), 


wliich  say  that  the  Spaniards  de- 
clared that  they  were  enemies,  and 
that  war  was  sufficiently  declared. 

'  Laudonniere  Bays  the  Spaniards 
fired  on  them  at  daybreak,  and  that 
the  French  then  sailed  off;  but  thi. 
other  two  accounts  are  silent  as  to 
the  firing. 


i'l 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


<  , 


only  one  to  my  knowledge  who  haa  given  any  details  on  1565. 
this  expedition,  avers,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  French,  "-— y^-- 
seeing  the  Spanish  ships  approach  in  the  darkness  of 
night,  kept  up  a  constant  but  ineffectual  fire  on  them ; 
that  Menendez  did  not  fire  a  single  gun,  and  kept  all  his 
men  flat  on  the  decks ;  that  at  daybreak,'  "  his  ship  hav- 
ing got  between  the  two  largest  of  the  French,  he  sounded 
his  trumpet  as  if  to  salute  the  French  flag-ship,  which  re- 
turned his  hail.  He  then  appeared  and  asked  whence  the 
ships  came,  and  what  they  were  doing  iu  Florida.  The 
reply  was,  that  they  were  French,  come  to  bring  men  and 
supplies  for  a  fort  which  the  Most  Christian  king  had  on 
May  Biver,  and  for  some  others  that  they  intended  to 
bmld  in  the  country ;  that  Menendez  then  asked  whether 
they  were  Catholics  or  Lutherans,'  to  which  they  replied 
that  they  were  Lutherancs,  and  in  turn  asked  the  speaker 
who  he  was,  and  what  his  intentions  were.  To  which  he 
repUed  :  "  I  am  Pedro  Menendez,  general  of  this  fleet  of 
the  CathoUc  king,  Philip  II.  I  have  come  to  this  country 
to  hang  and  kill  all  the  Lutherans  I  find  in  it,  or  meet  at 
sea,  according  to  the  orders  which  I  have  received  from 
the  king  my  master ;  and  these  orders  are  so  formal,  that 
I  am  not  at  liberty  to  spare  any  one.  I  shall  accordingly 
fulfil  them  to  the  letter;  but  when  I  have  taken  your 
ships,  if  I  find  any  Catholics  I  shall  treat  them  kindly  :  as 
for  the  heretics,  all  shall  die.'" 

At  these  words,  continues  the  Spanish  author,  the  ade-  He  attacks 
lantado  was  interrupted  by  shouts,  with  atrocious  and  in-  ships, which 
decent  insults  to  him  and  the  Catholic  king.    Boused  to  and  h^e*o-' 
anger,  he  ordered  his  men  to  beat  to  quarters,  slipped  his  strAugus- 
cable,  and  gave  orders  to  board ;  but  the  cables  getting      ''"*" 
foul  of  the  anchors,  the  French  had  time  to  saU.     The 
Spaniards  gave  chase,  keeping  up  a  cannonade,  but  too 
far  off  to  reach.*     Then  Menendez,  despairing  of  being 

'  Barcia  does  not  say  so.  •  Parkman,  Pioneers,   p.  100,  n., 

'  The  Spaniards  style  all  Protest-    gives  Menendez'  own  version, 
ants,  Lutherans. — Charlevoix,  '  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologico,  pp. 


u.iMiiiiiWii' 


192 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1565.     able  to  overtake  tbem,  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning 
"■-^  » "^  '  sailed  back  to  May  River,  intending  to  enter  it.    He  soon 
changed  his  mind,  for  seeing  five  ships  at  anchor,  and  two 
battalions  drawn  up  in  good  order  on  the  point  of  the  bar, 
which  fired  on  his  vessels  when  they  appeared,  he  feared 
that  if  he  persisted  in  forcing  a  passage,  the  other  French 
ships  might  return  and  take  him  between  two  fires.    He 
therefore  deemed  it  more  advisable  to  return  to  the  St. 
Augustine  River.' 
Council  of      The  four  French  ships,  which  had  not  lost  sight  of  Me- 
"caroiinef  nendez,  seeing  him  sail  off,  at  once  veered  and  regained 
^"wive.'^*   theic    former    anchorage,  head  winds   preventing   their 
nearer  approach  to  May  River.    As  soon  as  they  were 
moored,  Cosset,  their  commander,  wrote  to  Mi*,  de  Ribaut, 
to  inform  him  of  all  that  occurred,  and  on  this  information 
the  French  commander  caUed  a  council  of  war.    All  con- 
curred that  they  must  work  incessantly  to  fortify  Caro- 
line, and  send  a  large  detachment  by  land  to  Dolphin 
River,  to  fall  on  the  Spaniards  before  they  had  time  to 
intrench.' 
Bibaut  pro-     Mr.  de  Ribaut,  after  hearing  all,  drew  from  his  pocket  a 
''cTtiTer."    letter  which  he  had  received  from  Admiral  Coligni  a  few 
days  before  his  departure  from  Fi'ance,  by  which  that 


75,76.  MendozasajB  nothing  of  the 
French  firing  on  the  Spanish  Bliips. 
He  epeaks  of  the  perfect  silence 
preserved  for  two  hours,  when  Me- 
nendez  hailed ;  and  on  the  answer, 
"  France,"  he  rejoined  :  "  What  are 
you  doing  in  the  territories  of  King 
Philip  1  Go  ;  for  I  do  not  see  what 
you  are  doing  or  wish  to  do  here." 
The  French  then  asked  the  name  of 
the  Spanish  commander,  which  he 
gave,  and  asked  theirs.  A  boat  then 
came  on  board  from  the  French  ves- 
sel ;  and  after  refusing  to  surrender 
in  a  very  impolite  manner,  the 
French  cut  their  cables  and  stood 
off  (pp.  198, 199). 
'  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologico,  p. 


70.  Mendoza  jajb  the  Spanish  ships 
got  scattered  on  the  5th,  and  three 
of  the  small  vessels  anchored  near 
shore ;  and  at  night  the  French  flag- 
ship came  and  anchored  a  league  off. 
They  were  about  to  attack  it  on  the 
6th,  when  the  second  of  the  French 
flag-ship  appeared  ;  on  which  they 
bore  down  on  her,  and  so  made  their 
way  to  St.  Augustine  (pp  202,  203). 
Neither  Mendoza,  nor  Laudonniere, 
nor  the  Histoire  MerveiUeuse,  nor 
the  Latin  account  mention  the  firing 
from  the  land. 

'  Le  Moyne  de  Morgues,  p.  23 ; 
Laudonniere  in  Basanier,  p.  191 ;  De 
Qallorum  Expeditione,  p.  446 ;  His- 
toire Memorable,  p.  267. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


m 


nobleman  informed  him  that  a  Spanish  officer,  named  Don  i  $65. 
Pedro  Menendez,  was  prepared  to  go  and  attack  New  -^ »  ^' 
France,  and  expressly  enjoined  Bibaiit  not  to  permit  him 
to  undertake  any  thing  prejudicial  to  his  majesty's  rights. 
There  was  nothing  in  this  to  oblige  him  to  disregard  the 
advice  just  unanimously  given ;  yet  he  concluded  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  go  with  his  four  large  ships  to  attack  the 
three  Spanish  vessels,  which  Cosset  represented  as  still  at 
sea,  saying  that  when  he  had  them  in  his  power,  it  would 
be  easy  for  him  to  do  as  he  hked  with  the  rest. 

Mr.  de  Laudonniere,  and  a  captain  named  la  Orange,  m»  obeti- 
who  enjoyed  the  admiral's  confidence,  easily  refuted  this  "nee  to  thu 
argument ;  and  the  former  added  that  the  coast  was  sub-  "^tiiem  au." 
ject  to  storms,  which  sometimes  lasted  several  days ;  and 
that  if,  unfortiuately,  one  came  on  while  almost  all  the 
forces  of  the  colony  were  at  sea,  there  was  nothing  to  pre- 
vent the  Spaniards,  who  were  at  Dolphin  Kiver,  coming 
and  taking  Caroline.     They  spoke  in  vain ;  Bibaut  per- 
sisted in  his  design,  although  no  one  approved  it :  he  even 
obliged  Laudonniere,  whom  he  left  in  command  of  Car- 
oline, to  give  him  all  his   garrison,  and  almost  all  his 
supplies.'    La  Grange  did  not  wish  to  embark,  and  for 
two  days  declined,  but  was  at  last  induced.' 

There  remained  in  the  fort  with  Mr.  de  Laudonniere,  He  embarkb 
who  was  sick,  only  the  Sieur  du  Lys,  engineer,  two  gentle-  '  the  Span- 
men,  la  Vigne  and  St.  Cler,  and  fifty  persons  ;  others  say     '*'  '' 
eighty-five,  while  others  again  swell  the  number  to  two 
hundred  and  forty ;  but  all  agree  that  there  were  not 
twenty  in  a  state  to  fire  a  musket, — the  rest  were  soldiers 
who  had  been  woiuided  in  the  expedition  against  Outina, 
old  mechanics,  sutlers,  women,  and  children."     On  the 


J 


■  Laudonniere  in  Basanier,  His- 
toire  Notable,  pp.  192,  193  ;  Le 
Moyne  de  Morgues  in  de  Bry,  p.  23. 
It  would  Beem,  however,  1  lat  he 
proposed  his  plan  first,  and  showed 
Coligni's  letter  to  Laudonniere  sub- 
sequently. 

Vol.  L— 13 


'  Laudonniere,  pp.  193, 194. 

'  Laudonniere's  detailed  account 
makes  at  most  one  hundred  and 
twenty-three,  besides  the  sick  (pp. 
196, 197).  This  does  not  apparently 
include  himself  and  the  gentlemen — 
say  four  more.    In  the  De  Gallorum 


i; 


194 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


11 


1i        1 

11 


1565.     6th'  of  September  the  general  embarked  in  search  of  the 
'""""'1'"^'  Spaniards,  but  contrary  winds  kept  him  at  t)ie  roadstoad 

till  the  10th,  when  he  set  sail. 
Monemioi  On  the  7th,  Don  Pedro  Monendez  had  entered  Dolphin 
M»»ioii  of  River,  to  which,  as  we  have  seen,  he  had  given  the  name 
tine  River,  of  St.  Augustine,  and  which  I  shall  so  style  in  future.  He 
immediately  sent  ashore  thirty  men,  under  Captains  Andi-ew 
Lopez  Patiilo  and  John  de  San  Vicente,  whom  he  ordered 
to  select  an  advantageous  spot,  and  throw  up  temporary 
intrenchments,  till  they  could  build  a  fort.  He  landed  him- 
self at  noon  on  the  following  day,  and  found,  as  he  disem- 
barked, a  number  of  Indians,  to  whom  he  gave  marks  of 
friendship,  and  who  confirmed  all  that  he  had  heard  of 
the  position  at  Caroline.  On  the  9th  he  had  Mass  cele- 
brated, again  took  possession  of  the  country  with  all  requi- 
site formalities,  and  obUged  his  officers  to  swear  that  they 
would  be  faithful  to  him  till  the  end  of  his  expedition.' 

After  proceeding  to  visit  the  site  chosen  by  his  two 
captains,  which  he  approved,  he  re-embarked,  and  re- 
flecting on  the  danger,  after  his  troops  were  landed,  of  a 
French  attack  on  his  ships,  which  rode  at  anchor  a  league 
and  a  half  off  shore,  he  diligently  pushed  on  the  debarka- 
tion of  every  thing  that  he  required  for  the  projected  set- 
tlement, as  well  as  the  troops  whom  he  designed  to  use 
in  capturing  Caroline."  The  next  day,  learning  that  Mr. 
de  Bibaut  was  approaching  to  engage  him,  he  ordered  the 
commander  of  the  San  Pelayo,  with  one  other  vessel,  to 
weigh  at  midnight  for  Hispaniola.  He  himself  embarked  in 
a  large  boat,  put  one  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers  on  a  vessel 
of  a  hundred  tons,  and  with  these  two  craft  went  and 
anchored  on  the  bar  in  two  fathoms  water.* 


Expeditione  (p.  448)  and  Histoire  Me- 
morable (p.  370)  the  number  is  given 
at  two  hundred  and  forty,  but  we  can 
scarcely  suppose  over  one  hundred 
sick. 

'  Barcia,  Eusayo  Cronologico,  p. 
76,  2.    Mendoza  in  Ternaux,  p.  20A. 


They  make  the  Mass  and  oath  of  the 
officers,  however,  on  the  8th. 

'  Barcia,  p.  76. 

'  Barcia,  p.  77,  1.  Mendoza  says 
they  sailed  after  the  French  appeared 
— the  San  Pelayo  for  Spain,  the  other 
vessel  for  Cuba  (pp.  208,  209). 


<  I 


61 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


196 


At  daybreak  the  French  ships  appeared  at  the  very  wpot 
just  left  by  the  two  Spanish  vessels,  and  the  next  moment 
one  of  them  advanced  to  the  bar  with  three  sloops.  The 
adelantado  saw  the  greatness  of  his  peril ;  but,  fortunately 
for  him,  the  French  had  to  wait  two  full  hours  for  the  re- 
turn of  the  tide,  so  as  to  be  able  to  cross  the  bar.  The 
weather  was  fine,  and  the  sea  very  beautiful,  when  sud- 
denly there  sprang  up  so  violent  a  norther,  that  Mr.  de 
Bibaut  was  forced  to  stand  off  the  coast  and  abandon  his 
prey  at  the  very  moment  when,  to  all  appearance,  it  could 
not  escape.' 

Menendez  did  not  doubt  but  that  this  storm,  which 
saved  him,  was  an  answer  to  the  prayers  he  had  offered 
up  in  the  midst  of  the  danger  from  which  he  beheld  him- 
self so  happily  delivered,  and  his  only  thought  was  to 
profit  by  the  absence  of  the  French.  He  had  a  Mass  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  said,  at  the  close  of  which  he  assembled 
his  council  of  war.  He  there  stated,  that  if  the  king's  ser- 
vice alone  were  in  question,  no  one  could  be  surprised  at 
their  renouncing  an  enterprise  so  beset  with  obstacles; 
but  it  was  the  cause  of  God,  not  to  be  forsaken  without  in- 
curring the  malediction  of  the  Almighty.  "  We  are,"  he 
added,  "  surrounded  by  enemies,  our  provisions  begin  to 
fail,  but  it  is  in  such  great  extremities  that  real  courage 
is  shown." 

At  these  words,  the  council  interrupted  him,  assuring 
him  that  they  were  all  ready  to  second  him  to  their  ut- 
most. Then,  full  of  renewed  confidence,  he  resumed,  and 
said  "that  Heaven  visibly  declared  for  them;  that  the  suc- 
cess of  their  expedition  was  certain,  if  they  were  not  want- 
ing to  themselves ;  that  the  French  squadron,  which  three 
days  before  fled  before  them,  had  surely  dared  to  come  out 
and  attack  them  only  after  being  re-enforced  with  the  best 
men  in  Fort  Caroline  ;  that  the  storm  which  had  just  driven 


1565. 


Tlia  Frenoh 

are  Bur- 
prUed  by  a 

furiou« 
Btortn  JuHt 
a»  they  low- 
er a  boat  to 
attack  the 
Spaniards. 


Manendez'a 

speech  to 

his  officers. 


; !' 


'Barcia,  Ensa.-o  Cronologico,  p.    totheKing,Oct.l5,citedinParkman, 
77,  8 ;   Mendoza,  v^.  208  ,  Menendez    107 ;  Le  Moyne  de  Morgues,  p.  24. 


ill] 


In  l^ 


196 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


m 


i$65.  tbem  off,  would  not  permit  them  to  take  refuge  in  their 
^^■^'""^  own  port,  and  that,  according  to  all  appearances,  they 
could  not  make  it  for  some  days.  Moreover,  they  are 
heretics ;  and  we  knew,  before  leaving  Spain,  that  their 
general,  Bibaut,  had  forbidden  any  Catholic,  under  pain 
of  death,  to  embark  with  him.'  They  have  themselves  as- 
sured us  that  they  are  all  Lutherans.  We  are  therefore 
obliged  to  make  war  on  them  to  the  utmost,  not  only  be- 
cause we  have  express  orders,  but  also  because  they  are 
determined  on  their  side  to  show  us  no  quarter,  to  pre"'>nt 
our  planting  the  Catholic  faith  in  a  country  where  they 
wish  to  make  their  abominable  sect  prevail.  Hence,  we 
owe  it  equally  to  God  and  to  the  king  our  master,  to  perish 
rather  than  not  complete  what  we  have  just  so  happily  be- 
gun with  the  visible  help  of  Heaven." 
HiB  niin  to  He  then  explained  to  them  his  project,  which  consisted 
'""Hue."**  in  choosing  five  hundred  soldiers,  arquebusiers  and  pike- 
men,  to  make  them  take  eight  clays'  rations,  to  divide 
them  into  ten  companies,  each  with  its  captain  and  fi:vg, 
to  march  with  them  on  Caroline,  and  to  go  himself  two 
leagues  ahead  of  them  with  a  compass,  a  Frenchman  who 
had  faUen  into  his  hands,'  and  some  soldiers  with  axes  to 
open  a  path  through  the  woods.  He  added,  that  if  hap- 
pily he  arrived  before  being  discovered,  he  would  at  once 
order  an  escalade ;  that  he  would  carry  ladders  to  effect 
this,  and  that  he  calculated  tliat  it  would  not  cost  him  fifty 
soldiers  to  take  the  place ;  that  if,  unfortunately,  he  was 
seen  before  getting  out  of  the  woods,  he  would  intrench 
himself  as  near  the  fort  as  possible  ;  that  he  would  thence 
summon  the  commandant,  offering  to  furush  him  a  boat 
and  provisions  to  return  to  France ;  that  this  commander, 
perhaps,  overrating  his  strength,  would  accept  his  offers  ; 
that,  at  all  events,  the  French  would  not  dare  to  come  and 


W 


'  We  shall  Bee,  later,  that  this  was    calls  this  man   Francis  John,  and 
not  true. — Gharlexxdx.  says  that  he  was  one  of  those  who 

'  Laudonniere  in  Basanier  (p.  108)    stole  the  barks. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FIIANCE. 


m 


w 


attack  him  in  a  ntrong  position;  and  that  in  the  spring,     156$. 
when  he  receiveoi  the  expected  aid  from  Hiapaniola,  he   -*  ^  ~*-' 
would  be  in  a  condition  to  reduce  the  French  by  force. 

This  speech  did  not  elicit  universal  applause.  There 
were  even  great  disputes  among  the  officers  ;  but  the  ma- 
jority siding  with  the  captain-general,  his  plan  was  adopt- 
ed. Menendez  immediately  made  all  preparations  to  carry 
it  out.  He  ordered  that  all  should  hear  Mass  on  the  third 
day  before  taking  up  the  line  of  march ;  that  meanwhile 
the  maestro-de-campo  and  the  sergeant-major  should  se- 
lect the  five  hundred  men  who  were  to  compose  the 
detachment,  and  take  care  to  furnish  them  with  every 
thing  necessary ;  and  as  they  were  working  on  a  fort — 
which  has  become  a  celebrated  town,  under  the  name 
of  St.  Augustine — he  placed  there,  as  commandant,  his 
brother,  Bartholomew  Menendez,  and  gave  his  admiral 
command  of  the  artillery  which  he  left,  as  well  as  of  the 
three  ships  which  he  had  retained.' 

All  being  thus  arranged,  the  council  broke  up ;  but  in-  Mutiny 
formation  of  the  projected  movement  spreading  among  "Troop*.  * 
the  troops,  excited  great  murmurs.  It  was  still  worse  the  of  Mencn- 
next  day  :  the  sedition  increased  to  that  degree,  that  Cap- 
tains John  de  San  Vicente,  Francis  Recalde,  and  Diego 
de  Maya,  thought  themselves  justified  in  entreating  the 
adelantado  to  forego  his  project.  His  only  reply  was  to 
invite  all  the  captains  and  several  gentlemen  to  dine,  and 
after  treating  them  splendidly,  he  evinced  displeasure  at 
the  fact  that  the  secrecy  of  a  council  of  war  had  been  be- 
trayed ;  he  added  that  it  was  perhaps  his  duty  to  punish 
those  guilty  of  such  a  breach  of  discipline,  but  that  he 
would  pardon  them ;  he  was,  however,  glad  to  let  them 
know  that,  for  the  future,  the  slightest  faults  should  be 
severely  punished ;  that  the  discouragement  manifest 
among  the  soldiers  came  solely  fi-om  their  officers ;  all, 
however,  had  not  lost  heart,  and  he  saw  with  pleasure 

'  Barcla,  Ensayo  Cronologico,  p.  78. 


dez. 


S   NEWTON,  2! 


^mns*. 


108 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


I 


1  $65.  most  preparing  with  alacrity  to  march  at  tho  first  Bignai, 
'  '^''  ~^ '  because  their  captains  set  the  example  ;  that  each  one,  nev- 
ertheless, was  still  at  liberty  to  make  any  repronentations 
to  him ;  that  he  was  ready  to  change  hin  opinions  if  any 
one  showed  him  that  it  was  for  the  Ix^st,  but  that  a  final 
resolutioa  once  taken,  if  any  one  was  bold  enough  to  speak 
before  it  was  time  to  act,  he  would  break  him  on  the  spot. 
AU  replied  that  nothing  ought  to  bo  changed  in  the  plan 
adopted ;  and  those  oven  who  still  contmued  to  disapprove 
it,  promised  to  do  their  duty.' 
Seditiouft  The  day  having  come,  they  wore  on  the  point  of  march- 
wpuin.  ing,  when  John  de  San  Vicente  declared  that  he  was  unwell, 
and  that  he  would  not  go.  As  his  friends  sought  to  per- 
suade him  that  this  conduct  would  give  him  trouble,  be 
replied  that  he  expected  to  hear  in  a  few  days  that  the 
whole  party  had  been  slaughtered  by  the  French,  and  that 
then  it  was  his  intention  to  embark  with  all  who  survived 
at  St.  Augustine,  and  make  for  the  West  Indies.  "Is 
there  any  sense,"  he  added,  "  in  going  to  be  slaughtered 
like  cattle,  by  following  so  ill -conceived  a  project  ?"  * 

The  adelantado  pretended  not  to  be  informed  of  this 
speech,  and  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  van,  with  Mar- 
tin de  Ochoa,  attended  by  twenty  Biscayans  and  Asturi- 
ans,  who  had  been  supplied  with  axes  to  clear  the  way. 
The  rest  of  the  troops  followed,  under  the  orders  of  the 
maestro-de-campo  and  sergeant-major.  On  the  fourth  day 
of  the  march  they  came  within  half  a  league  of  Caroline ; 
and  although  there  was  a  high  wind,  and  the  rain  v  in 
pouring  in  torrents,  Menendez  pushed  on  a  quarter  of  a 
league  further,  and  halted  in  an  extremely  marshy  spot, 
behind  a  pine  wood  which  covered  him.  He  then  returned 
to  his  command,  to  serve  them  as  guide,  for  fear  they 
should  lose  their  way. 

At  ten  o'clock  at  night  the  whole  army  was  assembled, 
but  extremely  fatigued  and  drenched  with  rain,  which  had 


■  Barcia,  Ensaj^o  Cronolog^co,  p.  78,  2. 


lb.,  pp.  78.  70. 


liU 


1565. 


IllBTOKY  OF  NEW  FHANCE. 


not  Blackcnrd  Hince  thoir  departtire  from  St.  Augtifitine : 
thoy  ha'l,  moreover,  been  obliged  to  cross  mursbcs,  with 
water  up  to  the  waist.    The  rain  then  poured  down  so  vio-  Whkt  th« 
lently  that  they  had  great  di£Qculty  in  protecting  their  arms,  Vii%r  Tur- 
powder,  and  matches.    80  many  difficulties  made  the  sol-    ^mnoh. 
diers  lose  heart :  nothing  was  to  be  heard  but  maledictions 
on  the  general ;  and  Ferdinand  Perez,  an  ensign  in  Ban  Vi- 
cente's company,  was  even  heard  to  say  aloud,  that  he  did 
not  understand  how  so  many  brave  men  let  themselves  be 
sold  in  this  way  by  an  Asturian  mountaineer,  who  knew  no 
more  about  making  war  on  land  than  a  horse  did :  that 
for  his  part,  if  he  had  been  master,  he  would  have  treated 
him,  the  day  they  left  St.  Augustine  on  this  accursed  ex- 
pedition, as  he  wotild  soon  be  treated  by  the  French.' 

The  adelantado  was  well  aware  of  all  said  against  him,  McnenUci 
but  he  wisely  dissembled ;  and  firm  in  his  resolve,  ho  offlccn.' 
called  the  maestro-de-campo  and  all  the  captains  two 
hours  before  daybreak :  ho  told  them  that  all  night  long 
he  had  not  ceased  consulting  Heaven,  and  praying  the  Al- 
mighty to  inspire  him  with  what  best  became  IZis  service  ; 
that  he  was  satisfied  that  they  had  done  the  same,  each  by 
himself ;  that  it  was  at  last  time  to  determine  what  was  to 
be  done  in  the  6u,d  strait  in  which  they  were,  harassed, 
without  force,  bread,  munitions,  or  any  human  resource. 

Some  replied  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  lose  time  in  delib- 
erating ;  that  they  should  at  once  take  up  the  march  back 
to  St.  Augustine ;  that  the  palm-trees  would  make  up  for 
the  bread  they  needed ;  and  that  by  further  delay  they 
merely  exposed  themselves  to  manifest  danger  of  parishing. 
Menendez  agi'eed  that  this  advice  was  wise ;  that  he  nev- 
ertheless begged  them  to  allow  him  to  say  a  word,  after 
which  they  should  be  at  liberty  to  do  as  they  chose ; — that 
if,  80  far,  he  had  only  followed  his  own  ideas,  he  wished  in 
future  to  be  g\iided  by  the  counsel  of  his  friends  and  com- 


I  Barcia,  Ensa^o  Cronologico,  p.    Menendez  of   temerity.     Ternaux- 
70.    Mendoza,  in  biB  account,  accoses    Compons,  Recuell,  p.  31 1 . 


Reply  of 
noine. 


:  i\ 


I 


t  '. 


•-I 

I    Ft ' 


issa,'s.^=-- 


200 


1565. 


He   advises 

an  attack  on 

Caroline. 


Hin  advice 
adopted. 

He  prepares 
to  attack. 


Condition 
of  the  fort. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

rades  in  arms.  "  Let  us  know,  then,"  said  one  of  tliem, 
"  what  you  think,  and  we  will  then  give  you  our  opinion." 

"  I  believe,  my  friends,"  resumed  Menendez,  "  that  as  we 
are  here  at  the  gates  of  Caroline,  we  should  try  oxir  chance. 
If  we  cannot  take  the  place,  we  will  at  least  be  in  no 
fear  that  our  enemies,  who  according  to  all  appearances 
are  few  in  number,  will  venture  into  the  woods  to  pursue 
us,  and  our  retreat  will  be  perfectly  safe :  perhaps  even, 
when  they  see  us  in  line  ready  to  attack,  they  will  surren- 
der, without  awaiting  an  assault  that  they  cannot  sustain. 
If  not,  there  is  nothing  then  to  prevent  our  adopting  the 
course  proposed,  and  we  shall  at  least  have  the  consola- 
tion of  having  done  all  that  was  possible." 

The  maestro-de-oampo,  the  sergeant-major,  and  most  of 
the  captains,  scarcely  gave  him  time  to  finish,  and  con- 
jured him  to  lead  them  against  the  enemy.  Some  at  first 
wished  to  object,  but  they  were  soon  gained.  The  adelan- 
tado,  in  the  fulness  of  his  joy,  at  once  made  all  kneel  to 
implore  the  help  of  the  God  of  Hosts ;  then  he  ranged  the 
companies  in  the  order  which  they  were  to  retain  in  the 
attack.  He  put  himself  at  their  head,  with  his  French  fu- 
gitive or  prisoner, — for  accounts  differ  on  the  point,  but 
we  know  positively  that  the  man  had  his  hands  tied  be- 
hind his  back.  But  as  the  night  was  very  dark,  and  the 
wind  and  rain  did  not  slacken,  those  in  advance  lost  their 
way.  This  obliged  the  adelantado  to  halt,  and  wait  for 
daylight,  in  a  place  where  he  was  up  to  his  knees  in 
water." 

Meanwhile,  Mr.  de  Laudonniere,  equally  alarmed  as  to 
Eibaut's  fate,  on  account  of  the  storm,  which  he  had,  un- 
fortunately, but  too  clearly  foreseen,  and  which  still  lasted, 
and  also  because,  with  all  the  efforts  he  had  made  to  put 
CaroUne  in  a  state  of  defence,  three  great  breaches 
still  remained,  did  not  suppose  the  enemy  so  near  him. 
It  even  happened  that  the  fearful  weather  that  night, 

'  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologioo,  pp.  79,  80. 


I 


I 


HI8T0RT  OF  NEW  FRANCE.  201 

which  had  so  discouraged  the  Spaniards,  was  really  what  1565. 
contributed  most  to  the  success  of  their  enterprise ;  for  ^-~v~~^ 
the  Sieur  de  la  Vigne,  who  was  on  guard,  seeing  the  sol- 
diers all  drenched  with  rain,  took  pity  on  them,  and  al- 
lowed them  to  go  and  rest  before  others  came  to  relieve 
them  :  the  continuance  of  the  storm  banishing  every  idea 
of  there  being  any  thing  to  fear  from  the  enemy.' 

Menendez,  on  his  side,  had  resumed  his  march  at  day-  it  is  snr- 
break,  after  ordering  all  his  men  to  follow,  under  pain  of 
death.  He  soon  found  himself  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  behind 
which  the  Frenchman,  who  still  accompanied  him,  declared 
that  Caroline  stood,  and  only  about  three  musket-shots  oflf. 
Menendez  ascended  the  hill,  and  seeing  only  some  houses, 
which  concealed  the  fort,  wished  to  go  and  reconnoitre, 
but  the  maestro-de-campo  would  not  permit  him,  going 
himself  with  Ochoa.  These  two  officers  examined  the  fort 
leisurely ;  but  as  they  were  returning  to  report  to  the  gen- 
eral what  they  had  seen,  they  mistook  one  road  for  an- 
other, and  a  Frenchman  discovering  them  gave  the  qui 
vive !  Ochoa  replied  France,  and  the  man,  taking  them 
for  countrymen,  approached." 

Ochoa  went  to  meet  him,  and  the  soldier,  perceiving  his 
error,  stopped.  Ochoa  ran  at  him,  and  without  thinking, 
or  taking  time  to  draw  his  sword,  dealt  him  a  blow  with  it 
in  the  scabbard  on  the  head.  He  did  not  injure  him 
greatly,  as  the  soldier  parried  the  blow  with  his  sword ; 
but  the  maestro-de-campo  gave  him  a  second,  that  stunned 
and  brought  him  to  the  ground.  He  then  jiut  the  point  of 
his  sword  to  his  breast,  because  he  began  to  cry  out,  and 
told  him  to  hold  his  tongue  or  he  was  a  dead  man.  He 
then  bound  him  and  took  him  towards  Menendez,  who  at 
the  man's  cry  had  supposed  the  maestro-de-campo  killed. 
Turning  towards  his  sergeant-major,  Francis  Kecalde,  and 
Andrew  Lopez  Patiflo,  who  with  their  companies  stood 


>  Le  Moyne  de  Morgues  in  De 
Bry,  p.  24.    Laudonniere,  p.  197.         80. 


'  Barcia,  Enaayo  Cronologico,  p. 


fR 


ii  ■•) 


I' 


■aKS»> 


202 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1565.  nearest  to  him,  he  said:  "Friends,  God  is  with  us;  the 
maestro-de-campo  is  in  the  fort." 

At  these  words  all  started,  numing  at  fall  speed :  the 
foremost  came  up  with  Ochoa  and  the  maestro-de-campo, 
who,  unable  to  retain  his  prisoner,  had  killed  him.  and  was 
calling  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "Comrades,  follow  me; 
God  is  on  our  side !"  He  then  advanced  towards  the  fort, 
and  finding  two  Frenchmen  in  their  shirts,  he  killed  one 
and  Fatino  the  other.'  At  that  moment  a  soldier  of  the 
garrison  having  by  chance  ascended  the  rampart,  per- 
ceived the  Spaniards  coming  down  the  hill  already  men- 
tioned, and  marching  in  order  of  battle.  He  cried,  "  To 
arms!"  On  this,  Mv.  de  Laudonniere  ran  up  with  the 
bravest ;  but  he  had  scarcely  time  to  look  around,  when 
the  enemy  entered  by  the  three  breaches,  and  by  the 
wicket,  which  some  one  had  opened  to  see  what  the  mat- 
ter was.  In  a  momen^  all  resounded  with  the  groans  of 
women,  children,  and  the  sick,  whom  they  were  butchering. 
Laudonniere  flew  to  their  assistance,  but  he  was  too  late : 
he  sought  to  gain  a  spot  where  he  might  keep  the  assail- 
ants at  bay,  till  help  came  from  the  three  vessels  anchored 
oflf  the  fort ;  he  showed  himself  everywhere,  fighting  with 
a  valor  which  elicited  the  admiration  even  of  his  enemies ; 
but  the  Frenchman,  whom  Menendez  kept  constantly  be- 
side him,  having  pointed  him  out,  the  whole  combat  cen- 
tred on  him  alone,  and  he  saw  that  he  must  think  only  of 
retreating.  He  did  so,  fighting  steadily,  and  thus  enabling 
the  fev  surviving  French  to  make  good  their  escape  to  the 
woods.  He  was  the  idst  to  enter  them,  preceded  by  his 
servant-woman,  who  was  badly  wounded,  and  by  the  Sieur 
de  Morgues.' 

There  were,  nevertheless,  in  the  fort  only  the  two  com- 
panies commanded  by  the  sergeant-major  and  Diego  de 


'  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologico,  p.  Memorable,  pp.  270,  271.     Charle- 

80.  voix   in    this    place    rather    exag 

'  Laudonniere,  pp.  198,  199 ;   Le  gerales    the    prowess    of    Laudon- 

Moyne  de  Morgues,  p.  26 ;  Histoire  niere. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


m 


What  I  ;- 
carred  in 
regard  to 
the  three 
French 


Caroline. 


Maya,  the  colors  of  which  were  planted  suntUtaiieously  1^65. 
on  the  ramparts  by  Boderic  Troche  and  Peter  Valdez 
Herrera.  But  the  blast  of  the  trumpets  soon  brought 
up  the  whole  army ;  and  the  adelantado,  seeing  that  the 
French  no  longer  made  any  resistance,  gave  orders  to 
spare  the  women  and  all  the  children  imder  fifteen.  The 
Spanish  author  declares  that  seventy  were  saved.'  Me- 
nendez  then  posted,  sentinels  at  the  magazine,  which  his 
Frenchman  pointed  out,  and  which  was  well  supplied  with 
munitions  and  articles  of  trade ;  after  which  he  approached 
the  river,  and  summoned  those  on  board  the  three  ships 
to  surrender. 

They  refused,  and  he  prepared  to  sink  them.  As  soon 
as  his  battery  was  planted,  he  sent  to  summon  the  com- 
manders in  due  form.  They  replied  that  if  the  general 
wished  to  treat  with  them,  they  would  send  a  boat  to  bring  chored^off 
ofif  one  to  represent  him.  The  adei'antado  sent  his  prison- 
er, with  orders  to  teU  them  that  they  might  choose  one  of 
the  three  remaining  ships,  aiid  take  in  provisions  for  all, 
and  those  of  Caroline  whose  lives  had  been  saved ;  that 
he  would  give  them  a  passport  to  go  where  they  liked,  but 
on  condition  that  they  should  have  neither  artillery  nor 
other  munitions  of  war ;  but  that  if  they  declined  this  of- 
fer, he  would  sink  them,  and  give  quarter  to  none." 

His  envoy  soon  returned,  and  informed  him  that  the 
commander-in-chief  of  the  three  ships  was  the  son'  of 
General  Eibaut — other  memoirs  say  his  nephew' — and 
that  he  had  replied  that  he  did  not  see  why  the  Spaniards 
made  war  on  him,  when  he  bore  a.  commission  from  the 
king,  his  master,  with  whom  the  Catholic  king  was  at 
peace.  That,  moreover,  he  would  defend  himself  if  at- 
tacked, and,  as  he  hoped,  successfully.  On  this  reply, 
Diego  de  Maya  fired  a  cannon,  which   pierced  one   of 

■  Barcia,  p.  81.     Mendoza  is   si-       '  Jamee  Ribaut.    Le  Moyne,  p.  20. 

lent  Barcia,  pp.  81,  2. 

'  Ibid.  See     Laudonniere,     p.        *  Cht  mplain,  Voyages  (ed.  1632), 

201.  p.  18. 


^1 


204 


i56s. 


Wliat  befell 

Mr.  de  Lau- 

donniere 

after  the 

capture  of 

e  fort. 


capi 
th( 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

the  three  vessels  at  the  water-line.  The  crew,  unable  to 
remedy  it,  except  by  exposing  them  to  the  enemy's  fire, 
took  to  the  boats,  passing  to  the  other  two  ships,  which 
cut  their  cables,  and  anchored  out  of  reach  of  the  can- 
non.' 

The  French  memoirs  give  a  different  version;  but  we 
must  go  back  somewhat  in  our  narrative,  which  being  from 
Mr.  de  Laudonniere  himself,  seems  certain.  This  com- 
mander having  escaped  in  the  manner  that  we  have  seen, 
found  about  a  dozen  of  his  people  in  the  wood.  He  pro- 
posed to  approach  the  river,  and  reach  the  vessels  just 
mentioned ;  but  some  preferred  to  trust  to  the  Indians, 
and  left  him.  He  set  out  with  *-he  rest,  and  they  walked 
all  night,  in  water  almost  to  their  waists.  Towards  sunset 
they  lost  their  way  and  were  forced  to  stop,  being  too  fa- 
tigued to  swim.  Still,  two  of  the  most  vigorous  resolved 
to  risk  it,  so  as  to  give  the  ships  tidings,  and  bring  them 
boats. 

In  fact,  the  next  morning  early  the  boats  appeared.  It 
was  time  for  them  to  come.  Mr.  de  Laudonniere  was 
dying,  and  most  of  the  rest  were  hardly  any  better  oflf : 
they  were  brought  to  with  brandy,  whicli  their  deliverers 
had  had  the  precaution  to  bring ;  and  as  soon  as  the  com- 
mandant bad  somewhat  regained  his  strength,  he  wished, 
before  embarking,  to  make  a  tour  through  the  wood,"  to 
see  whether  he  could  find  any  of  his  people  who  had  lost 
their  way.  Those  who  had  left  him  at  first  had  almost 
all  joined  him;  many  others  had  also  reached  the  bank 
of  the  river  bv  various  routes,  and  he  had  the  consolation 
of  saving  abc  ^t  twenty.' 


'  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologico,  pp. 
81,  82.  The  French  account,  His- 
toire  Memorable,  says  (p.  S78)  that 
the  Spanish  fire  did  no  injury.  As 
they  Bcuttl'-  /  a  vess  1  soon  after,  the 
Spaniard*:  .aturally  put  the  sinking 
to  their  own  credit. 

*  He  did  not,  and  could  not,  make 


any  turn  in  the  woods :  he  merely 
got  the  boat  to  run  along  the  cane- 
brake  before  rowing  off  to  the  ship. 
Laudonniere,  pp.  800,  201. 

"  Laudonniere,  pp.  200, 201.  Chal- 
leux,  in  the  Histoire  Memorable,  i. 
28,  says  that  twenty-six  were  taken 
off  with  Laudonniere  to  Maillard'a 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


205 


of  young 
Blbaut. 


Meanwhile,  there  remained  opposite  the  fort  only  that     1565. 
one  of  the  three  French  ships  commanded  by  James  de  "-"^^ 
Bibaut.      That    officer    had   seen    the    Spaniards    enter  Misconduot 
Caroline,  without  firing  a  single  cannon  at  them,  although 
near  enough  to  do  them  considerable  injury,  and  having 
sixty  soldiers  and  a  pretty  good  crew  on  board.     It  is  true 
that  the  fort  was  taken  so  suddenly,  that  Ribaut  was  ap- 
parently unaware  of  the  attack  tiU  the  moment  when  the 
enemy  were  in,  and  that  in  firing  on  them  he  might  fear 
that  his  balls  would  reach  his  countrymen ;  but  it  is  not 
so  easy  to  excuse  his  conduct  to  Mr.  de  Laudonniere, 
after  the  latter  had  reached  his  ship. 

He  first  weighed  anchor  to  join  the  other  two  ships, 
which  were  anchored  near  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Then 
Laudonniere  proposed  to  go  in  search  of  Mr.  de  Bibaut, 
whose  fate  was  still  unknown ;  but  he  declared  it  to  be  his 
intention  to  proceed  to  France,  without  stopping  anywhere. 
This  so  shocked  Laudonniere,  that  he  went  to  another  ves- 
sel.' Unfortunately,  the  ship  had  no  pilot  who  durst  ven- 
ture to  sail  alone.  Bibaut  had  four,  but  would  give  none. 
The  third  ship  and  another  vessel  which  remained  on  the 
coast  had  not  sailors  enough  to  work  them,  am',  they  had 
to  be  abandoned.  Laudonniere  advised  Bibaut  to  set 
them  on  fire,  to  prevent  the  Spaniards  using  them,  either 
against  him  or  against  the  squadron  if  it  reappeared ;  but 


i-ii 


vesael.  This  does  not  apparently  in- 
clude all,  as  Ms  party  and  Laudon- 
nlere's  numbered  much  more.  Bar- 
cia  says  that  sixty  escaped,  of  whom 
six  surrendered,  and  ten  were  sub- 
sequently taken,  making  those  who 
reached  the  ships  forty-four.  Men- 
doza  says  nothing  of  the  seventy 
saved.  He  gives  one  hundred  and 
forty-two  killed,  including  a  "  great 
cosmographer  and  magician,"  and 
says  about  three  hundred  escaped 
(p.  881).  But  the  last  figures  are  evi- 
dently wild.    Laudonniere  may  per- 


haps underrate  his  force;  but  the 
Spanish  accounts  bear  it  out,  making 
about  two  hundred  in  all,  besides 
the  women  and  children. 

■  Laudonniere's  narrative  and  Chal- 
leux  are  silent  as  to  any  proposal  to 
seek  John  Ribault.  Laudonniere  says 
that  after  reaching  the  vessels,  he 
was  in  the  Levrier,  when  "  Captain 
James  Ribault  and  Captain  Valuot 
came  to  see  me  ;  and  there  we  con- 
cluded to  return  to  France."  As  to 
his  going  to  another  vessel  he  ia 
silent. 


206 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


LaudoD- 
nlere  ar- 
rivei  in 
France. 


1565.  he  would  do  nothing,  so  that  Mr.  de  Laudonniere,  who 
deemed  this  precaution  absolutely  necessary,  was  obliged 
to  send  his  carpenter  secretly  to  scuttle  an'',  sink  them.' 

What  then  became  of  young  Bibaut  h  not  stated.'  As 
for  Mr.  de  Laudonniere,  after  buffeting  wi^h  head  winds, 
and  suffering  greatly  from  hunger,  he  was  «.lr?ven  a?^ore 
in  the  British  Channel,  and  compelled  to  land  at  Bristol.' 
He  was  long  sick  in  England,  and  on  his  recovery  passed 
oyer  to  France,  where,  the  Spaniards  pretend,  he  was  ill- 
received  by  the  king.*  Even  this  would  not  prove  what 
the  Spaniards  endeavor  to  show,  that  the  king  was  in 
league  with  his  brother-in-law,  to  exterminate  the  Hugue- 
nots in  Florida  :  but  Admiral  Coligni  was  more  embroiled 
than  ever  with  the  court,  and  all  attached  to  him  were  re- 
garded tmfavorably. 
Notwithstanding  Laudonniere's  exertions,  all  the  French 
hung"by"the  would  not  Or  could  not  follow  him.  Some  fled  to  the  In- 
dians, a  tew  surrendered  to  the  Spaniards,  -who  placed 
them  with  the  prisoners  made  at  the  capture  of  Caro- 
line.* The  French  historians  all  agree'  in  stating  that  all 
these  were  hung  to  a  tree,  on  which  was  a  label  inscribed  : 
"  These  are  not  treated  thus  as  Frenchmen,  but  as  heretics 


Several 
French 


Spaniards. 


li 


I 


'  Le  Moyne  de  Morgnee,  p.  27. 
Laadonniere  Bays  nothing  of  Ri- 
banlt's  oppodng  the  destruction  of 
the  useleBS  veeselB.  Ho  saja  that 
from  that  bought  of  Hawkins  he  took 
the  cannon— giving  nine  pieces  to 
James  Ribault,  and  keeping  fiv»— 
and  that  he  sank  another.  Le  Moyne 
says,  two  others. 

*  Laudonniere  and  Ribault  sailed 
in  company,  September  25th,  each 
with  half  the  survivors  ;  but  Ribault, 
whose  vessel  was  the  Pearl,  left  him 
next  day.  Laudonniere,  p.  202.  Chal- 
leux  apparently  sailed  with  Ribault ; 
and  after  engaging  a  Spanish  ship, 
ree'"bed  RocheUe.  Histoire  Memo- 
rable, pp.  289-291. 


'  He  first  reached  Sovaneze  (Swan- 
sea), in  Wales  (ib.,  204) ;  and  being 
sick,  sent  his  vessel  to  France. 

<  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologico,  p. 
81. 

'  Six  surrendered,  wei .  .iilled,and 
dragged  to  the  river-side,  in  sight  of 
Ribault's  vessel.  Histoire  Memo- 
rable, p.  277. 

'  This  is  not  stated  by  Laudon- 
niere, nor  by  Challeux,  nor  by  Chau  ve- 
ton  in  his  Latin  version  of  Challeux, 
nor  in  the  letter  addressed  to  King 
Charles.  The  story  was  apparently 
put  forward  for  the  first  time  in  the 
account  of  de  Gourgues'  expedition. 
It  can  hardly  be  said,  therefore,  that 
the  French  all  agree. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


807 


1565. 


Caroline 

styled  San 

Miitheo. 


and  enemies  of  God."  They  add  that  the  Spaniards, 
learning  subsequently  that  several  Frenchmen  had  been 
well  received  by  the  Indians,  made  such  diUgent  search, 
and  so  intimidated  the  savages,  that  most  of  these  poor 
fugitives  were  obliged  to  give  themselves  up  to  the  enemy, 
who  showed  them  as  little  mercy  as  they  did  their  com- 
rades. Others,  to  the  number  of  twenty,  pursued  by  the 
Spaniards,  fled  through  the  woods,  and  were  all  shot 
down. 

Thus  did  Don  Pedro  Menendez  become  master  of 
French  Floriud,.  He  immediately  gave  Caroline  the  name 
of  San  Matheo,  which  it  still  bears,  because  he  e&tered  it 
the  day  on  which  the  festival  of  St.  Matthew  is  celebrated. 
At  the  same  time  he  displaced  the  arms  of  France  and  of 
Admii'al  Coligni,  which  were  over  the  principal  gate,  and 
set  up  those  of  Spain.'  The  next  day,  the  22d,  he  marked 
out  a  spot  to  build  a  church ;  then  having  reviewed  his 
troops,  he  found  that  he  had  not  four  himdred  eflfective 
men,  although  be  had  lost  very  few,  and  perhaps  not  a 
man  in  the  surprise  of  Caroline.  But  during  the  march 
several  returned  to  St.  Augustine,  because  they  despaired 
of  the  success  of  the  enterprise  ;  some  lost  their  way,  and 
others  lagged  behind  from  cowardice  or  mere  fatigue. 

The  adelantado  then  appointed  his  sergeant-major.  The  adeian- 
Gonzalo  de  Vilarroel,  governor  of  San  Matheo,  and  left  "'  '""* 
him  three  hundred  men  as  a  garrison.  He  wished  to 
march  back  to  St.  Augustine  the  next  morning ;  but  his 
officers  declared  that  they  were  not  yet  fit  to  march,  and 
he  allowed  them  to  remain  as  long  as  they  wished.  He 
added  that,  for  his  own  part,  he  could  not  defer  his  de- 
parture, as  he  feared  that  Mr.  de  Bibaut  might  make  up 
for  the  loss  of  Caroline  by  carrying  St.  Augustine;  and 
that  if  any  had  good-will  enough  to  follow  him  he  would 
feel  indebted  to  him,  but  he  would  not  force  any  one. 
Thirty-five  offered,  and  he  set  out  on  the  23d  with  them, 


1 


to  St.  Aa- 
gastine. 


1 1  I 


n 


i  1 


M 


( 


■  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologico,  p.  83. 


208 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


I 


1  ' 


m 


ifi't 


M 


He  ii  re- 
ceived tliere 


1565.  and  Francis  de  CastaDeda,  the  captain  of  his  guards, — 
commanding  Medrano,  Patifio,  and  Alrarado  to  follow  him 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  the  other  officers  not  to  leave  the 
fort  without  his  order. 
As  the  rains  still  continued,  and  the  whole  country  was 
Id  triumph,  inundated,  it  is  inconceivable  how  much  he  suffered  on  this 
march ;  but  he  was  borne  up  by  his  exultation  at  the  suc- 
cess of  his  enterprise.  He  at  last  reached  St.  Augustine, 
where  he  had  been  deplored  as  dead,  inasmuch  as  the  de- 
serters, to  cloak  the  baseness  of  their  conduct,  had  an- 
nounced that  he  had  perished,  with  all  his  force.  Two 
soldiers,  who  had  pushed  on  in  advance,  having  declared 
the  contrary  and  announced  his  speedy  return,  all,  in  a 
moment,  passed  from  the  most  extreme  consternation  to 
excess  of  joy.  All  went  to  meet  the  conqueror  of  the  here- 
tics, with  cross  and  clergy,  singing  the  Te  Deum ;  and 
thus  was  he  received  in  triumph.' 
Fire  at  San  His  first  care  was  to  send  provisions  to  San  Matheo, 
TiieSan  Pe-  which  was  in  greater  need  than  he  was  aware  of, — a  fire, 
turedbytiie  Supposed  not  to  be  the  effect  of  mere  chance,  having 
French,  yg^uged  almost  all  the  buildings  to  ashes.  He  also  learned 
soon  after  that  the  garrison  of  that  place  had  mutinied 
against  its  officers.  These  were  not  the  only  misfortunes 
to  dampen  the  joy  of  the  adelantado.  He  had  put  several 
Frenchmen,  who  had  fallen  into  his  hands  on  his  arrival 
in  Florida,  on  board  the  galleon  San  Pelayo ;  and  his 
orders  were,  that  after  they  were  landed  in  St.  Domingo, 
they  should  be  sent  to  the  Inquisition  in  Spain :  but 
they  were  scarcely  out  at  sea,  when,  with  the  help  of  some 
foreigners  and  a  few  sailors  whom  .they  gained,  they  dis- 
patched the  officers,  made  sure  of  the  crew,  and  caiTied 
the  galleon  into  Denmark." 

Mr.  de  Kibaut's  squadron,  of  which  there  were  as  yet  no 
tidings,  also  gave  the  Spanish  general  some  imeasiness, 


"  Barcia,  EoBayo  Cronologico.  p. 
82,  3  ;  Mendoza,  Memoir,  p.  223. 


'  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologico,  p, 


84. 


:»^.:; 


.1^ 


I :' 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


SOI 


as  he  had  no  vessel  able  to  resist  it,  if  it  attacked  him 
before  the  arrival  of  the  rest  of  the  fleet,  which  he  awaited 
impatiently.  But  his  fears  and  his  hopes  vanished  almost 
simultaneously ;  and  the  sad  fate  of  the  French  squadron 
made  him  bear  more  easily  the  loss  of  his  galleon  and  the 
dispersion  of  his  fleet,  of  which  he  was  soon  informed. 

The  storm  which  had  driven  Mr.  Eibaut  away  from  the 
St.  Augustine  Biver,  at  the  moment  when  he  held  the 
Spaniards  there  unable  to  resist  him,  lasted  till  the  23d  of 
September,  and  forced  him  ashore  more  than  fifty  leagues 
from  there,  in  the  direction  of  the  Bahama  Channel,  and 
finally  dashed  all  his  ships  to  pieces  on  the  rocks.  All  his 
men  escaped  by  swimming ;  but  all  that  was  on  the  ships 
was  lost.'  The  sequel  of  this  unhappy  adventure  is  so  dif- 
ferently represented  by  the  French  and  Spaniards,  that  it 
is  absolutely  impossible  to  reconcile  them.  In  such  cases, 
where  truth,  for  all  his  endeavor,  eludes  him,  the  impartial 
writer  owes  it  to  the  fidelity  of  history  to  give  the  contra- 
dictory versions,  adding  the  reasons  and  authorities  which 
support  them,  and  leaving  the  public  to  judge. 

Mr.  de  Ribaut,  say  the  French  historians,  finding  him- 
self wrecked  on  an  unknown  coast,  without  arms  or  pro- 
visions, wished  to  try  and  reach  May  Eiver.  The  difficul- 
ties, misery,  and  hardship  endured  by  this  wretched  band, 
on  their  march  through  an  unknown,  uninhabited,  and 
often  impracticable  country,  are  more  easily  conceived 
than  described.  At  last,  the  commander,  finding  an  aban- 
doned sloop  on  the  shore,  sent  Michael  le  Vasseur  in  it,  to 
go  and  reconnoitre  the  condition  of  affairs  at  Caroline. 

Le  Vasseur  went  near  enough  to  discern  the  Spanish 
ensigns  on  the  fort.*  His  return  with  this  sad  tidings 
appalled  every  heart,  and  it  was  long  before  they  could 
come  to  any  resolution.    At  last,  Mr.  de  Bibaut  resolved 


1565. 


Menendez 

learns  bad 

news  of  the 

fleet. 


Ribaut's 
nhipwreck. 
Contradic- 
tion be- 
tw««a  hie- 
toriana  on 
the  point. 


What  be- 
fell the 
French 
after  the 
Bhipwreck, 
according 
toourhieto- 


>  Histoire  Memorable,  p.  202.  Moyne  de  Morgues,  p.  28 ;  De  Gal- 

'  Histoire  Memorable,  pp.  293-5.  loram  Expedltione,   pp.   465,   466. 

He  says,   Thomas  le  Vasseur.    Le  The  fort  must  be  St.  Augustine. 
Vol.  I.— 14 


III 


li 


210 


HI8T0BY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


}  i 


i 


1565.     to  send  Nicholas  Verdier,  captain  of  one  of  his  ships,  and 

^-""r^^  Sergeant  la  Caille,  to  learn  from  the  Spanish  commander 

Nopotiation  what  treatment  they  might  expect.     These  two  men,  hav- 

der.       ing  reached  the  bank  of  the  river  opposite  to  the  fortress, 

made  a  signal,  which  was  no  sooner  perceived  than  a  boat 

was  sent.     They  were  then  taken  to  the  commander,  of 

whom  they  asked  what  had  become  of  Mr.  de  Laudonniere 

and  his  garrison.     The  commandant  replied,  that  after  the 

capture  of  Caroline,  they  had  given   them   a  ship  well 

equipped,  in  which  they  had  sailed  for  France  ;  and  that 

if  Mr.  de  Bibaut  would  sun'ender  at  discretion,  he  would 

experience  the  same  effects  of  his  generosity.' 

This  reply,  which  the  two  envoys  deemed  sincere,  re- 
assured them ;  and  they  hastened  back  to  inform  their 
general.  Opinions  were,  nevertheless,  divided  among  the 
French  :  some  maintaining  that  they  should  distrust  men 
who  were  known  to  hold  it  as  a  principle  that  it  was  doing 
a  work  pleasing  to  God  to  exterminate  those  who  did  not 
profess  the  Boman  religion ;  and  others  saying  that  a 
speedy  death  was  better  than  the  deplorable  condition  in 
which  they  were.  Ribaut  concurred  with  the  latter,  and 
drew  all  to  his  view.  La  Caille  was  sent  back  to  San 
Matheo,  and  asked  only  what  the  commandant  of  the  fort 
had  hluiself  offered — namely,  that  all  should  have  liberty 
to  proceed  to  France,  and  that  a  vessel  should  be  furnished 
with  all  its  rigging  and  necessary  provisions.  The  com- 
mandant renewed  his  promise,  and  swore  to  its  execution 
by  all  that  he  held  sacred.' 

After  such  formal  assurances,  there  was  no  one  among 
the  French  who  at  all  hesitated  to  surrender  himself  into 
the  hands  of  the  Spaniards.  The  latter  sent  boats ;  but 
scarcely  had  they  crossed  the  river  when  they  saw  that 
they  were  deceived.    As  they  left  the  boats,  they  were  tied 


■  Le  Moyne  de  Morguee,  p.  28.  The  *  Le  Moyne  de  Morgues,  p.  20.  He 
Histoiie  Memorable  (p.  296)  is  very  says  a  written  pledge  was  given,  but 
brief.  it  is  utterly  improbable. 


.(■/■^■:i^ 


mSTOUT  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


211 


iu  fours.     MtiSHiours  ile  Ribaut  and  d'Ottiguy  wore   led     1565. 
alone  to  the  parade  of  the  fort,  where,  on  asking  to  speak  "— "">""-' 
to  the  commandant,  to  learn  from  him  why  they  were  sisugiitor  of 
treated  so  at  variance  with  the  promise  made  them,  they     party. 
were  informed  that  the  commuudant  was  not  to  be  seen. 

A  moment  after,  a  private  soldier  came  up  to  Mr.  de 
Bibaut,  and  asked  him  whether  he  was  not  the  general  of 
the  French.  He  replied  that  he  was.  "  Have  you  not  al- 
ways estabUshed,"  rejoined  the  soldier,  "  that  those  under 
your  orders  should  obey  you  punctually  ?"  "  Undoubt- 
edly," roi)litMl  Eibaut,  who  could  not  see  the  drift  of  all 
this.  "  Then  do  not  find  it  strange,"  replied  the  soldier, 
"  that  I,  too,  fulfil  an  order  given  by  ray  commandant ;" 
and  with  these  words  he  drove  a  dagger  into  his  heart. 
Another  soldier  subjected  d'Ottigny  to  the  same  questions 
and  treatment,  that  officer  calling  God  to  witness  the  per- 
fidy of  the  Spaniards. 

This  first  execution  was  a  signal  for  the  garrison,  who  in 
an  instant  rushed  on  the  Frenchmen  and  butchered  them 
all  iu  a  moment.'  According  to  a  document  which  on  this 
point  seems  above  suspicion,  eight  hundred  Frenchmen 
perished  by  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards  ;  but  to  all 
appearance  we  must  include  in  this  number  all  who  were 
killed  when  Caroline  was  taken.  It  is  certain,  moreover, 
that  Menendez  reserved  several  mechanics  and  other 
tradesmen  for  the  works  which  he  designed  at  San  Ma- 
theo  and  St.  Augustine. 

Some  have  wiitten  that  Mr.  de  Bibaut  was  flayed  alive, 
and  that  his  skin  wua  sent  to  Spain  ;'  but  I  do  not  find 
this  supported  by  sufficient  authority.  A  very  curious 
document,'  presented  the  uext  year  to  King  Charles  IX., 
tinder  the  title  of  "  Supplication  of  the  widows  and  chii- 


l^ 


'  Le  Moyne  de  Morgues,  p.  29. 
The  Histoire  Memorable  says  Ribaut 
nnd  Ottigny  were  killed  last  (p.  299). 

'  Tliis  statement  and  that  of  the 
hanging  do  not  appear  in  the  early 


account?,  but  are  lx)th  in  La  Re- 
prinse  de  ia  Florido 

'  Evidently  the  ^..ipplex  Libellua 
addressed  to  Charles  IX.  Benzoni, 
Novee  Novi  Orbis  Hist.,  p.  472. 


212 


niHTOHY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


m 


\f. 


W' 


1565.  dren  of  those  who  were  miiHHnorvd  in  Flori»liv,"  merely 
"-^'  ~  says  that  after  a  soldier  struck  the  geueral  from  behiud, 
ho  fell  senseless  ;  that  ho  was  deprived  of  life  on  the  spot, 
and  his  beard  cut  off  and  sent  to  Seville  by  Don  Pedro 
Menendez,  as  a  trophy  of  his  victory ;  that  his  head,  cut 
into  four  pieces,  was  exposed  on  as  many  pikes  ;'  that  the 
bodies  of  those  who  had  been  killed  at  the  capture  of 
Carohno  wore  brought  to  the  spot  where  the  others  had 
just  been  massacred ;  that  the  frightfiU  remains  of  these 
wretched  beings  were  treated  with  unparalleled  indignity, 
and  then  all  consumed  together, 
sinjriiiaraii.  The  account  just  given  from  Mr.  de  Laudouniere,  who 
Httiior.  added  it  to  his  Relation,  is  based  mainly  on  the  account 
of  one  of  Mr.  do  Ribaut's  sailors,  whose  adventures  are 
somewhat  surjirising.  Tliis  man  had  been  bound  like  the 
rest,  and  received  several  dagger-thrusts,  which  made  him 
fall  lifeless  under  the  four  others  to  whom  he  was  attached. 
No  one  doubted  but  what  he  was  dead ;  but  coming  to 
himself  the  next  night,  and  recollecting  that  he  had  a 
knife  in  his  pocket,  he  used  it  to  sever  his  bonds,  rose,  and 
reached  the  wood.  He  then  bound  up  his  wounds  as  well 
as  he  could ;  and  not  deeming  it  safe  so  near  the  Span- 
iards, he  started  away  and  marched  for  three  days,  guided 
by  the  sun. 

He  at  last  reached  a  village,  the  chief  of  which  received 
him  readily.  Ho  was  well  treated  and  his  wounds  dressed, 
BO  that  he  recovered  completely  ;  but  at  the  end  of  eight 
months,  the  paraousti  informed  him  that  he  could  shelter 
him  no  longer,  and  that  he  must  surrender  himself  to  the 


■  Supplex  LibelluB  (p.  469),  con- 
finned  by  I)e  Gallorum  Espeditiono 
(pp.  4<i8,400)  and  Hlstoire  Memorable 
(p.  300) ;  but  the  statement  as  to  the 
burning  is  not  in  the  Supplex  Li- 
bell  ub  nor  in  the  Histoire  Memorable. 
Chauvcton  adds  it  to  !'>ii>  transla- 
tion (p.  409),  having  heard  it  from 
"  a  noble  Briton,  who  saw  Florida." 


Yet  even  he  does  not  say  that 
bodies  were  brought  from  the  St. 
John's,  and  it  is  too  Improbable 
to  credit.  This  account  of  Hi- 
bault's  end  is  given  on  the  authority 
of  Christopher  le  Breton  of  Havre 
de  Grace,  who  wbb  sent  to  Spain,  but 
escaped.  Another  account  will  be 
noticed  hereafter. 


IIIHTKHY  OP  NEW  FHANCB. 


218 


1565. 


Spaniftrds  or  bo  pivcn  np.  AHtouiulfd  at  tliiH  annoutico- 
ijiL'ut,  1111(1  not  knowing'  what  to  do,  he  Am\  ;  nud  after  long 
wanderingH  at  random,  found  himself  t?":  leagiioH  from 
Han  Matlieo.  Thou  ho  waH  Heizod  with  redouhh'd  foar, 
which  put  hitn  hoHi«U>  himself ;  and  unablo  to  bring  him- 
self to  Hurrendor  into  the  hands  of  his  oxocutionerH,  he 
resolved  to  s',ay  where  ho  was,  and  die  of  starvation. 

He  had  alr3ady  gone  four  or  five  days  without  food,  and  Cnpturo  by 
scarcely  retained  the  human  flgiiro,  when  ho  was  found  by  spuniiirdi. 
a  Spaniard  hunting.  The  latter  was  seized  with  horror  at 
the  sight  of  this  wretch,  who  implored  his  life  with  clasped 
hands.  He  promised  to  use  all  his  intluenco  with  the  gov- 
ernor to  obtain  his  pardon,  and  he  did  not  take  him  to  the 
fort  till  he  had  obtained*  it.  The  sailor  was  then  put  with 
the  slaves,  and  remained  iu  the  fort  a  whole  year  in  that 
condition.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  was  sent  to  Ha- 
vana, where  he  was  put  with  a  French  gentleman  named 
Pompierre,  who  had  been  a  prisoner  in  that  port  since 
the  unfortunate  expedition  of  tl  mutineers  of  Caroline, 
which  he  had  been  forced  to  join.  They  were  chained  to- 
gether, and  sold  to  some  Portuguese  going  to  Brazil. 
Fortunately  the  vessel  bearing  them  was  taken  by  Bon- 
tems,  a  French  captain,  and  they  thus  recovered  their  lib- 
erty at  a  time  when  they  had  ever)'  reason  to  believe  that 
their  slavery  would  end  only  with  life.' 

I  have  said  that  this  account  is  the  source  to  which  all 
have  resorted  who  have  written  on  the  tragical  catastrophe 
of  the  French  in  Florida ;'  but  there  is  so  great  a  diversity 
of  circumstances  in  the  narrative  they  give,  that  it  is  by 
no  means  easy  to  unravel  the  exact  truth.  All,  however, 
agree  sufficiently  on  the  most  essential  points,  and  espe- 
cially on  the  pledge  given  under  oath  to  Mr.  de  Ribaut,  to 
furnish  him  a  vessel  to  carry  him  and  his  party  to  France. 
Mr.  de  Thou'  states,  in  addition,  that  Menendez  treated  the 


'  Le  Moyne  de  Morgues,  pp.  20,  .30.        '  De  Thou,  Hlstoire  UniverBelle,  1. 
•  Le  Breton's  account  was  the  first,    xliv.,  vol,  v.,  p.  500. 


214 


1565. 


til 


Spanish 
veraioii. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 

French  in  Florida  as  he  did,  only  by  the  influence  of  the 
chief  miuisten  of  the  French  court,  who  informed  him  of 
Bibaut's  departure,  that  he  might  pursue  and  attack  them. 
The  recent  historian  of  Floiida  proves  clearly  enough  the 
falsity  of  this  assertion ;  but  if  the  French  in  Florida  were 
not  disavowed  by  their  own  sovereign, — if  Messieurs  de 
Bibaut  and  de  Laudonniere  had  commissions  from  that 
prince  to  build  forts  and  found  settlements  in  that  part  of 
America,  wb'^'-e  Spain  had  never  had  any, — how  justify 
the  manner  in  which  they  were  treated  in  time  of  peace, 
even  according  to  the  account  given  by  Doctor  SoUs  de  las 
Meras,  whose  sister  had  married  Don  Pedro  Menendez, 
and  who  accompanied  that  general  on  his  expedition  ?  It 
is  on  the  testimony  of  tlds  doctor,  who  speaks  as  an  eye- 
witness, and  who  has  been  or  jied  by  Don  Andr6  Gonzalez 
de  Barcia,  that  I  am  going  to  give  the  second  version  of 
the  close  of  that  tragedy,  the  scene  of  which  is  transported 
fium  S.\n  Matheo  to  St.  Augustine. 

While  Peter  Menendez  was  engaged  in  fortifying  the 
latter  place,  for  fear  that  de  Bibaut  should  come  to  assail 
him,  some  Indians  informed  him  that  there  were  a  num- 
ber of  Christians  four  leagues  off,  greatly  embarrassed 
to  cross  a  bay,  which  was,  however,  merely  the  quite  nar- 
row mouth  of  a  small  river.'  On  this  news,  the  adelantado 
took  with  him  forty  soldiers,  to  go  and  see  to  what  coun- 
try these  Christians  belonged;  but  as  he  set  out  quite 
late,  it  was  night  when  he  reached  the  place  announced  to 
him,  and  he  encamped  a  short  distance  from  the  river. 

The  next  morning  he  posted  his  detachment  in  a  way 
not  to  be  perceived.  He  then  cUmbed  a  tree,  'rom  which 
he  could  see  a  large  force  on  the  '^ther  side  of  the  bay,  and 
he  even  observed  that  they  had  hags.  He  got  down,  and 
approached  the  river.    As  soon  as  he  appeared,"  a  Gascon 


•  Probably  Matanzas  Inlet.  the  deception,  he  may  have  given 

*  Mendoza  (Memoir,  p.  830)  says,    lils  name  as  Villemande,  according 
disguised  as  a  sailor.    To  carry  out    to  the  French  version. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE, 

from  St.  Jean  de  Luz  swam  over,  and  told  him  that  all 
whom  he  saw  were  Frenchmen,  who  had  been  wrecked. 
Menendez  asked  him  whence  they  came,  and  he  answered 
that  they  were  the  people  of  Mr.  de  Bibaut,  captain-gen- 
eral of  Florida  for  the  king  of  France.  The  adelantado 
asked  whether  they  were  Cathohcs,  and  he  answered, 
"  No."  "  You  can  tell  your  general,"  replied  the  adelan- 
tado, "  that  I  am  Peter  Menendez,  viceroy  and  captain- 
general  of  Florida  for  the  Catholic  king  Philip  II. ;  that  I 
have  come  with  soldiers,  as  I  knew  that  you  were  there." 

llie  Frenchman  returned  with  this  answer,  and  soon 
after  came  back  to  ask  the  Spanish  general  for  a  safe 
conduct  for  his  commander  and  four  gentlemen  who 
wished  to  treat  with  him,  if  he  would  send  them  a  boat. 
One  had  just  arrived  from  St.  Augustine  with  provisions. 
Menendez  replied  that  he  granted  it,  and  that  the  com- 
mander could  come  on  his  word,  'ji  officer  and  some  sol- 
diers were  sent,  who  were  web  received.  The  adelantado 
had  near  him  only  ten  men ;  the  rest  of  his  detachment 
was  a  little  further  off,  behind  some  bushes,  so  arranged 
as  to  appear  much  greater  in  number  than  it  was.  The 
officer,  on  meeting  the  general,  told  him  that  they  had 
been  wrecked  in  the  late  storm ;  that  they  had  lost  four 
vessels  and  all  their  boats ;  that  he  begged  him  to  lend 
them  his  boat  to  cross  a  bay  and  an  arm  of  the  sea  four 
leagues  off,  so  as  to  reach  a  fort  which  the  king  their 
master  had  at  a  distance  of  twenty  leagues  thence. 

The  adelantado  asked  him  whether  they  were  Catholics, 
and  the  officer  replied  that  they  belonged  to  the  reformed 
religion.  Then  he  said  :  "  Sir,  I  have  taken  your  fort,  and 
put  the  garrison  to  the  sword ;  but  I  have  spared  the  wo- 
men, and  the  children  under  fifteen  years ;  and  to  remove 
all  doubts,  two  of  your  countrymen,  whom  I  spared  be- 
cause they  declared  themselves  to  be  Catholics,  are  here 
among  my  soldiers.  Rest  here,  I  wlU  bring  you  some- 
thing to  eat,  you  shall  see  your  two  countrymen,  and  part 
of  the  booty  taken  by  my  men  at  Caroline."      He  had 


Ribaat*! 

advanced 

party. 


\m 


|: 


216 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1565. 


The  nego- 
tiation. 


them  served  at  oncu,  and  wjnt  to  take  his  meal  with  his 
own  men. 

After  the  lapse  of  an  hour  he  retui-ned  to  the  French, 
and  asked  them  whether  they  were  convinced  of  what  he 
had  told  them  ?  The  officer  replied  that  he  could  not 
doubt  it,  and  that  he  implored  him  to  give  them  a  vessiel 
to  return  to  France.  "  T  would  do  it  willingly,"  repUed 
the  adelantado,  "  if  you  were  Catholics,  and  I  had  vessels 
to  spare."  "  At  least,"  repUed  tho  officer,  "  permit  us  to 
stay  with  you,  till  an  occasion  offers  for  us  to  sail ;  there 
is  no  war  between  our  two  nations,  and  our  kings  are 
friends  and  brothers."  "It  is  true,"  replied  Menendez, 
"  that  the  French  Catholics  are  our  friends  and  allies ;  but 
it  is  not  so  with  heretics,  on  whom  I  make  war  with  fire 
and  sword,  and  will  make  it  with  all  cruelty'  on  all  of  that 
sect  that  I  meet  on  land  or  water ;  and  in  this  I  profess  to 
serve  both  kings.  I  have  come  to  Florida  to  plant  the 
Eom&n  Catholic  faith.  K  you  throw  yourselves  on  my 
mercy,  and  give  up  your  arms  and  ensigns,  I  will  do  what 
Ood  inspires  me :  if  not,  take  such  course  as  you  please, 
but  expect  neither  friendship  nor  truce  from  me." 

With  these  words  he  left  them,  telling  them  to  consult. 
The  Gascon  already  mentioned  then  offered  to  go  and  re- 
port to  the  whole  troop  what  he  had  just  heard  He  was 
allowed  to  do  so,  and  after  two  hours  came  back.  Then 
the  officer  and  his  companions  went  to  the  adelantado,  and 
offered  him  twenty  thousand  ducats  if  he  would  guarantee 
them  their  lives.  Menendez  repUed  that,  although  he  was 
only  a  poor  soldier,  he  was  incapable  of  acting  fi-om  mo- 
tives of  interest ;  that  if  he  granted  a  favor  he  would  do  it 
from  pure  generosity ;  and,  as  the  officer  insisted,  he  pro- 
tested that  they  would  sooner  see  heaven  and  earth  come 
together,  than  see  lum  change  his  resolution. 

At  this  answer,  the  officer  and  his  gentlemen  recrossed 


r     :''< 


>  Qae  tenia  con  ellos  guerra  a    con  toda  crueldad.     Ensayo  Crono- 
Mngre  e  fucgo,  7  que  esta  la  haria    logico,  p.  86,  2. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE, 

tlie  bay,  and  at  the  end  of  half  an  horn-  came  back,  as 
they  had  promised,  with  the  ensigns,  seventy  arquebuses, 
twenty  pistols,  a  quantity  of  swords  and  bucklers,  some 
helmets  and  cuirasses.  The  officer  said  to  the  Spanish 
general,  on  surrendering  the  whole  to  him,  that  he  threw 
himself  on  his  mercy.  Then  Menendez  commanded  his 
admiral,  Diego  Florez  de  Valdez,  to  take  all  these  spoils, 
and  at  the  same  time  he  put  twenty  soldiers  in  the  boat, 
with  orders  to  bring  aU  the  French  across,  but  in  small 
parties,  and  without  oflfering  them  any  insult.  He  himself 
took  the  officer  and  his  company  about  two  short  gun- 
shots from  the  river,  where  he  had  their  hands  tied  behind 
their  backs,  saying  that  he  was  obliged  to  take  this  pre- 
caution, because  they  far  outnumbered  his  men.  All  the 
others,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred,'  were  likewise 
bound,  but  after  food  had  been  given  to  them. 

This  done,  the  adelantado  asked  them  whether  there 
were  any  Catholics  among  them.  Eight  wore  found,  who 
were  at  once  put  on  the  boat  to  be  taken  to  St.  Augustine. 
AU  the  rest  declared  that  they  were  good  Christians,  and 
followed  the  new  reform.  They  were  immediately  divided 
into  bands  of  ten.  The  adelantado  had  them  marched  off 
separately,  and  commanded  those  who  were  appointed 
to  conduct  them,  that  when  they  arrived  at  a  place  which 
he  designated,  and  where  he  had  drawn  a  line  on  the  sand 
with  his  cane,  all  should  be  put  to  death  ;  which  was  done.' 

The  next  day  Menendez  returned  to  St.  Augustine,    Ribaut's 
where  the  same  Indians  who  had  given  him  the  first  infer- '"'"°  P'^'y* 
mation  of  the  arrival  of  the  French,  came  to  tell  him  that 
another  troop,  more  numerous  than  the  first,  had  appeared 
at  the  same  place.    Not  doubting  but  that  this  was  Mr. 


■  V 


'  Two  hundred  and  eight  (Barcia, 
p.  87).  One  hundred  and  forty  (Me- 
nendez to  the  king). 

'  Mendoza  says  he  saved  ten  or 
twelve,  and  that  one  hundred  and 
eleven  were  put  to  death,  not  count- 


ing fourteen  or  fifteen  prisoners  (p, 
2o'2).  He  gives  the  date,  September 
23,  1565.  Mendoza  here  closes  his 
account.  Menendez  himself,  in  his 
letter  to  the  king,  says  he  spared 
sixteen. 


I 


218 


fflSTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


5    ,' 


1565. 


Nejgotia- 
tion. 


de  Ribaut,  with  the  rest  of  his  army,  he  took  one  hundred 
and  fifty  soldiers,  and  by  night  ranged  them  in  good  order 
on  the  bank  of  the  river.  At  daybreak  he  perceived  the 
French  at  some  distance  from  the  opposite  bank ;  and,  at 
the  water's  edge,  a  kind  of  raft  which  they  had  constructed 
to  cross  the  bay.  The  French,  on  their  side,  no  sooner 
discovered  him,  than  they  sounded  an  alarm,  displayed 
the  royal  standard  and  two  ensigns,  and  drew  up  in  line 
of  battle  to  the  sound  of  drum  and  fife. 

At  this  sight  the  adelantado  ordered  his  soldiers  to  sit 
down,  breakfast,  and  show  no  sign  of  concern.  As  for 
himself,  he  walked  calmly  on  the  bank  with  his  admiral 
and  two  other  officers,  as  though  there  was  no  one  on  the 
other  side.  Then  the  French  stopped  their  fife  and  drum, 
sounded  a  trumpet,  and  raised  a  white  flag  in  token  of 
peace.  The  Spaniards  did  the  same,  and  a  Frenchman  im- 
mediately advanced  on  the  raft,  and  asked  the  Spaniards 
to  send  them  some  one.  The  adelantado  replied  that  as 
they  had  a  raft,  it  was  their  part  to  come  across  if  they 
wanted  any  thing.  The  Frenchman  replied  that  the  cur- 
rent was  too  strong  to  risk  crossing  on  a  raft ;  but  that  if 
he  would  send  over  a  periagua,  that  was  on  the  bank, 
some  one  would  go  to  speak  with  him.' 

Meaendez  replied  that  he  should  swim  over  and  come 
on  his  word.  A  sailor  did  so  and  the  adelantado,  without 
hearkening  to  him,  told  him  to  take  the  periagua,  and  go 
tell  his  commandant  from  him,  that  if  he  wished  any  thing 
he  should  send  to  ask  it.  The  sailor  soon  after  returned 
with  a  gentleman,  who  told  Menendez  that  he  was  ser- 
geant-major of  Mr.  de  Bibaut,  viceroy  and  captain-general 
of  Florida  for  the  king  of  France  ;  that  the  last  storm  had 
wrecked  his  vessels ;  that  he  had  with  him  three  htmdred 
and  fifty  Frenchmen,  with  whom  he  desired  to  proceed  io 
a  fort  which  he  had  twenty  leagues  oflf;  that  he  begged 
him  to  lend  them  boats  to  cross  that  river,  and  another 


Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronologico,  p. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

four  leagues  further  on ;  and  that  he  desired  to  know  with 
whom  he  was  treating.' 

The  adelantado  made  him  the  same  reply  that  he  did 
to  the  first  Frenchmen,  adding  that  he  had  already  pun- 
ished with  death  another  party  escaping  from  the  same 
shipwreck,  because  it  had  acted  badly.  He  even  led  him 
to  where  the  bodies  of  the  unfortiinate  men  still  lay,  and 
added  that  he  had  no  boats  to  lend  them.  The  officer, 
without  evincing  the  least  emotion,  asked  him  whether  he 
would  not  have  the  kindness  to  send  one  of  his  gentlemen, 
or  cross  the  river  himself,  to  declare  his  intentions  to  the 
French  general.  "Brother,"  replied  the  adelantado, 
"  take  my  answer  to  your  commandaiii,,  and  tell  him,  that 
if  he  wishes  to  confer  with  me,  he  may  come  to  meet  me 
with  four  or  six  of  his  men,  to  deliberate  on  the  course 
most  expedient  to  adopt,  and  I  give  him  all  security  for 
this  purpose." 

The  gentleman  set  out  with  this  answer,  and  returned 
in  half  an  hour,  assuring  the  adelantado  that  Mr.  de  Bi- 
baut  was  disposed  to  meet  him  on  his  word;  that  he 
begged  him  to  send  his  boat.  This  Menendez  refused, 
saying  that  the  French  general  could  cross  in  the  periagua 
without  any  risk.  Mr.  de  Bibaut  was  therefore  forced  to 
embark  in  the  periagua,  with  eight  gentlemen.  He  was 
well  received  by  the  adelantado,  who  at  once  had  a  colla- 
tion served  up  to  them.  He  then  showed  him  the  dead 
bodies  of  his  men.  He  repeated  to  him  all  that  he  had 
informed  him  by  message  of  the  capture  of  Caroline,  and 
perceiving  that  Bibaut  was  not  convinced,  made  two 
Frenchmen  come,  who  had  witnessed  every  thing,  and  who 
assured  their  general  that  the  statement  was  true.* 

Then  Mr.  de  Bibaut  told  the  Spanish  general  that  the 
events  of  life  were  so  varied,  that  all  that  had  just  befallen 
the  French  might  well  one  day  befall  himself :  that  their 
kings  were  friends  and  brothers,  and  that  in  the  name  of 


>  Barcia,  Ensayo  Cronolog.,  p.  88. 


lb.,  p.  88. 


•  lb.  p. 


219 


1565. 


Reply  of 
Menendez. 


it 


220 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


i 


s'j 


1565.  tliat  alliance  lie  conjured  him  to  furnish  him  a  vessel  and 
'"^^"^'  provisions  to  return  to  France.  But  he  could  draw  from 
him  no  answer  but  that  given  io  the  first  party.  On  this, 
he  said  that  he  would  go  and  deliberate  with  his  council, 
because,  having  many  gentlemen  with  him,  he  could  not 
resolve  on  any  course  without  their  participation.  Menen- 
dez  approved  this  conduct.  Ribaut  again  crossed  the 
river,  and  in  less  than  three  hours  returned.' 
Bibaut'g  at-  He  told  the  adelantado  that  a  part  of  his  force  con- 
tain terms,  sented  to  surrender  at  discretion,  but  not  the  majority. 
Menendez  replied  that  they  were  free  to  do  as  they  chose, 
the  thing  being  indifferent  to  him.  Mr.  de  Bibaut  replied 
that  those  who  surrendered  to  him  offered  more  than  one 
hundred  thousand  ducats  for  their  ransom ;  that  the 
others  would  give  still  more,  because  some  of  them  were 
very  rich,  and  that  they  were  even  not  disinclined  to  stay 
in  the  country,  if  they  were  permitted  to  do  oO.  "  I  woold 
much  need  the  aid,"  replied  Menendez,  "  to  carry  out  the 
orders  which  I  have  received  from  the  king  my  master, 
which  are  to  conquer  and  settle  Florida  and  establish  the 
gospel  there  :  I  greatly  regret  that  I  cannot  avail  myself 
ofit."' 

This  answer  made  Mr.  de  Bibaut  believe  that  the  Span- 
ish general  would  at  last  be  tempted ;  he  told  him  that  if 
he  would  grant  him  till  next  day,  he  would  go  again  and 
deliberate  Ith  his  troop,  and  bring  a  final  answer.  He 
obtained  his  request,  returned  the  next  day,  and  began  by 
presenting  to  the  adelantado  two  standards — one  of  the 
king  of  France,  and  the  other  of  Admiral  Coligni;  the 
colors  of  the  companies,  a  sword,  a  dagge^,  a  gold  helmet, 
very  finely  wrought,  a  buckler,  a  pistol,  and  a  seal,  which 
Admu'al  Coligni  had  given  him  to  seal  in  his  name  the 
documents  he  might  have  to  issue.  He  added,  that  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty  men  with  him,  two  hundred  had 
retii'ed  during  the  night,  and  that  the  others,  with  himself, 


!>t     * 


'  Farda,  Ensayo  Cronolog.,  p.  88. 


'  lb.,  p.  89. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


221 


Dentil  of 
Rlbnnt. 


consented  to  surrender  into  his  Lands,  and  that  he  might     1565. 
send  hL  boat  to  bring  them  over.' 

The  adelantado  at  once  gave  or  iers  to  his  admiral,  com- 
manding him  not  to  take  more  than  ten  Frenchmen  at  a 
time,  and  to  tie  them  as  they  landed,  as  had  been  done  the 
first  time.  Mi*,  de  Ribaut  and  those  who  were  with  him 
were  also  bound ;  after  which  the  adelantado  asked  them 
whether  they  were  Catholics  or  Lutherans?  Bibaut  re- 
plied, in  the  name  of  all,  that  they  belonged  to  the  new 
reform,  and  began  to  recite  the  psalm,  "  Domine  memento 
mei" '  Then  he  said :  "  We  came  from  the  dust,  and  to  it 
we  must  all  return ;  twenty  years  sooner  or  later  is  all 
one :  do  your  will  on  me."  The  adelantado  gave  the  sig- 
nal to  dispatch  them,  and  was  obeyed.  Four  Catholics 
were  found  in  this  party  and  spared.* 

Menendez  then  returned  to  St.  Augustine,  where  some 
taxed  him  with  cruelty  :  the  others  not  only  approved  his 
conduct,  but  added  that  the  French  should  have  been  ex- 
terminated had  they  all  been  Catholics,  inasmuch  as  so 
many  prisoners  would  soon  have  caused  a  famine  at  St. 
Augustine,  their  supply  of  provisions  being  scanty ;  and, 
besides,  outnumbering  the  Spaniards,  they  might  easily 
take  the  fort  and  massacre  the  garrison  in  retaliation  for 
what  had  been  done  at  Caroline. 

About  three  weeks  after  this  expedition,  the  adelantado  The  third 
was  informed  by  the  Indians,  that  a  week's  journey  south 
of  St.  Augustine,  southward,  at  the  coast  of  CaQaveral, 
which  lies  on  the  Bahama  Channel,  there  were  some 
Frenchmen  building  a  fort  and  a  ship.  He  had  no  doubt 
but  that  these  were  the  two  hundred  men  who  had  left  Mr. 
de  Ribaut,  and  at  once  dispatched  a  courier  to  the  governor 
of  St.  Matheo,  with  orders  to  send  him  one  hundi'ed  and 
fifty  men.    This  detachment  reached  St.  Augustine  on  the 

"  Barcia,  Enaayo  Cronologico,  p.  89.  etc.    Menendez,  in  Lis  letter  to  the 

'  No   psalm    begins   witb    these  king,  October  16, 1565,  puts  Uibaut's 

■^vords. — Charlevoix.  party  at  seventy,  of  whom  he  spared 

>  Barcia  says  four,  besides  the  lifers,  five.  See  Parkman's  Pioneers,  p.  180. 


party. 


I' I 


:   k 


222 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1565. 


m 


m 


1 


Thoir  Biir- 
render. 


23d  of  October,  under  the  command  of  Andrew  Lopez  Pa- 
tino  and  John  Yelez  de  Medrano.  Menendez  increased  it 
by  a  like  number  of  soldiers  from  his  garrison,  and  on  the 
26th  set  out  with  this  force,  marching  on  foot,  followed  by 
the  arms  and  provisions  on  two  boats,  which  anchored 
every  night  opposite  his  camp. 

On  the  1st  of  November  he  discovered  the  French,  who, 
surprised  to  see  the  Spaniards  urrive,  fled  to  a  mountain. 
Menendez  sent  to  tell  them  that  they  might  come  without 
fear,  and  that  he  not  only  gave  them  a  pledge  of  Lfe,  but 
would  treat  them  the  same  as  his  own  soldiers.  Most  of 
them  con^  led  in  his  word,  and  he  kept  it  to  the  letter ;  he 
employe  them  even  in  his  subsequent  expeditions,  and 
gainee  several  to  the  Catholic  religion ;  but  their  com- 
mander and  twenty  others  replied  to  his  envoy,  that  they 
would  rather  be  eaten  by  the  savages  than  suirender  to 
him.  Fe  despised  their  small  number,  and  left  them  in 
peace.  He  set  fire  to  the  fort  and  ship,  which  were 
already  considerably  advanced,  and  returned  to  St.  Augus- 
tine, well  satisfied  to  be  rid  of  so  many  Frenchmen,  who 
might  have  given  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble'  had  Mr.  de 
Bibaut"  chosen  to  follow  the  advice  of  Mr.  de  Laudonniere, 
or  if  the  storm  which  destroyed  his  ships  had  begun  only 
two  hours  later. 

It  is  quite  useless  for  me  to  add  any  reflections  of  my 
own  on  the  difference  and  the  contradictions  between  the 
two  accounts,  which  I  have  just  given — my  readers  will 
make  them  as  well  as  I  can ;  but  I  cannot  refrain  ttom 
acknowledging  much  more  probability  in  the  latter  than 
in  the  former,  and  I  avow  that  I  should  hesitate  to  tax  a 
man  of  honor  with  such  black  perfidy  as  is  attributed  to 
the  governor  of  San  Matheo,  on  the  authority  of  a  single 
man,  who  under  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was,  ex- 


'  Afullaccountof  thisaffair.byDoc-  '  The  highest  eulogy  on  Ribaut  ia 
tor  SoUb  de  Meras,  a  brother-in-law  by  Menendez.  See  Parkman's  Pio- 
of  Menendez,  ie  in  Barda,  pp.  85-90.    neers,  p.  132. 


I  I 


I  ( 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


223 


asperated  by  a  long  and  harsh  captivity,  animated  by  the  1565. 
hatred  which  his  religion  inspired  him  against  the  Cath-  '— "^r— -' 
olicB,  would  not  have  been  deemed  in  a  court  of  justice  a 
competent  witness  to  condemn  a  private  individual ;  and 
it  is  surprising  that  no  one  at  the  time  thought  to  ques- 
tion a  fact  of  this  nature,  supported  solely  by  testimony 
open  to  such  just  suspicion. 

After  all,  the  fact  as  the  Spaniards  themselves  relate  it    indiffer- 
was  more  than  sufficient  to  arouse  public  mdignation  m  court  bb  to 

-r,  .,    ..         .  «•...,,  tlieaffuirB 

France ;  nor  was  it,  therefore,  confined  to  those  whose  re-  in  Florida. 
ligious  interest  rendered  them  more  sensible  to  the  treat- 
ment inflicted  on  their  fellow-believers  in  Florida.  Never- 
theless, the  hatred  entertained  by  the  court  against  the 
Huguenots,  and  especially  against  Admiral  Coligni,  their 
leader,  who  was  almost  always  in  arms  against  his  sov- 
ereign and  against  the  reUgion  of  his  ancestors,  con- 
tributed greatly  to  the  indifference  which  succeeded  these 
first  outbursts  of  humanity  and  patriotism.  Hence,  by 
a  sad  efiect  of  the  wretched  condition  in  which  France 
was,  the  king's  subjects,  who  had  just  perished  in  Florida 
at  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  were  regarded  by  most  of 
those  then  in  power,  less  as  subjects,  than  as  creatures  of 
the  most  deadly  enemy  which  religion  and  the  prince  then 
had.  Moreover,  the  position  of  Charles  IX.  did  not  per- 
mit him  to  embroil  himself  with  the  Catholic  king.  The 
honor  of  the  French  would,  therefore,  have  been  un- 
avenged, had  not  a  private  person  undertaken  to  do  it  at 
his  own  risk  and  expense. 

This  zealous  citizen  was  the  Chevalier  Dominic  de  The  early 
Gourgues,  a  Gascon  gentlemen,  born  at  Mont  de  Marsan,     of  tiie 
in  the  covmtship  of  Comminges,  of  a  family  distinguished  de  *Gour- 
at  all  times  by  an  unshaken  attachment  to  the  ancient     *""*■ 
faith.'    He  himself  never  left  it,  although  the  last  Spanish 
historian  of  Florida  accuses  him  of  having  been  a  terrible 


'  He  was  brother  to  the  Presideot    logico,  p.  133 ;  Farkman's  Pioneers, 
of  Qaienne.    Barcia,  Ensayo  Crono-    p.  141. 


i 


I 


'!  m 


I 


t 


m 


224  HISTORY  OP  NEW  FUANCE 

1565.  heretic — herec/e  lerriNc.  There  were,  at  the  time,  few  Bub- 
*"^"~v'"~^  altern  officerR  in  France,  and  perhaps  in  all  Europe,  who 
had  acquired  a  more  brilliant  reputation  in  war,  ,">r  who 
had  experienced  more  revorst-s  of  fortune.  He  Jiad  served 
quite  young  in  Italy,  and  one  day,  wh'm  commanding  a 
detacliment  d  thirty  men  near  Sienna,  in  Tuscany,  he  for 
a  loi\g  time  withstood  all  the  eflbrts  of  a  part  of  tho 
Spanish  aimy :  at  lasi,  all  his  men  having  been  slain 
around  him,  hr  was  taken,  sent  to  the  galleys,  and  put  in 
chains  like  a  iriminal.  The  bitterness  with  which  the 
Spaniards  then  made  war  on  France,  made  them  forget 
their  ancient  generosity  to  the  point  of  thus  violating  tho 
laws  of  war,  and  punishing  with  a  degrading  slavery  ac- 
tions wliich,  at  the  bottom  of  their  hearts,  they  could  not 
fail  to  admire. 

The  galley  on  which  the  Chevalier  de  Gourgues  was 
rowing,  was  taken  by  the  Turks  on  the  coast  of  Sicily, 
carried  to  Rhodes,  and  thence  to  Constantinople ;  but  hav- 
ing put  to  sea  again,  it  was  retaken  by  the  galleys  of 
Malta,  and  de  Gourgues  thus  re^overe^  his  liberty.  Re- 
turning to  France,  he  conceivjd  the  idea  of  travelling  by 
pea;  he  wcni  first  to  Africa,  then  to  Brazil,  and  thence, 
says  Lescarbot,'  to  the  Pacific  ;  but  this  author,  undoubt- 
edly, lakes  the  Pacific  for  the  Indian  Ocean,  an  it  is  cer- 
tain that  in  the  sixteenth  century  no  Frenchman  had  yet 
been  in  the  Pacific' 
He  prepares  It  is  nct  stated  how  long  the  Chevalier  de  Gourgud 
Spnninrds  spcut  m  th°«  voyages,  nor  what  he  did  during  them  ;  but 
ida.  it  is  certain  tiiat  he  had  only  ji'st  amvcd  in  France,  with 
the  name  of  being  one  of  the  ableht  and  boldest  navigators 
of  his  age,  when  news  was  brought  of  the  capture  of  Car- 
oline by  the  Spaniards,  and  the  massacre  of  the  French. 
He  was  deeply  moved,  both  for  the  honor  of  France,  and 


'  Lcsctirbof,  Histoire  de  la  Nou- 
velle  Pranre,  p.  141. 
'  Basanier  (Hietoire   Notable,   p. 


222)  say.i  lie  went  towardg  the  Pa- 
cific. De  Thou  (Hiet.  Univ.)  treats 
de  QourgueB'  vo^  age  at  length. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FBAJTCT 


220 


\^ 


tho  interoHt  which,  in  his  vi'>WB,  should  be  taken  in  mich  a      1567. 
fine  country ;  moreover,  he  was  burning  witli  a  desire  to  "*—■ r-*-' 
avenge  his  own  wrongs.     So  many  tirgeut  motives  made 
him  form  the  design  of  chastising  tlie  usurpers  of  Florida, 
or  dying  in  tho  attempt. 

To  enable  him  to  execute  so  bold  a  design,  which  He  Uavei 
seemed  beyond  the  power  of  a  private  individual,  ho  sold 
all  his  property,  made  heavy  loans,  and  equipped  tv/o  ro- 
berges,  and  a  patache  in  the  form  of  a  felucca.  These 
three  boats  could  go  by  oars  in  a  calm,  and  were  of  very 
light  draught,  so  that  it  was  easy  for  them  to  enter  most 
of  the  rivers  of  Florida.  Eighty  picked  sailors  formed 
their  crew ;  but  they  carried  one  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers 
and  volunteers,  one  hundred  of  whom  were  crossbowmen, 
and  most  of  them  gentlemen.  The  expedition  was  fitted 
out  at  Bordeaux ;  and  sailing  thence,  August  2, 1567,  was 
detained  for  eight  days  in  succession  at  Eoyan  by  head 
winds,  then  forced  by  a  violent  storm  to  put  Lato  the  Cha- 
rente,  where  it  remained  till  the  twenty -second.' 

It  had  provisions  for  a  year,  and  the  Chevalier  de 
Gourgues  was  provided  with  a  commission  from  Mr.  de 
Montluc,  lieutenant  ior  the  king  in  Guyenne  ;  but  it  was 
not  for  Florida.  It  gave  him  power  only  to  go  to  the 
coast  of  Benin,  in  Africa,  and  carry  off  negroes ;  for  he 
had  not  as  yet  disclosed  the  real  object  of  his  expedition 
to  any  one.'  Scarcely  was  he  out  at  sea  when  he  was 
surprised  by  a  second  storm,  in  which  one  of  his  ships  dis- 
appeared. He  had  provided  for  this  accident,  and  had 
given  all  his  pilots  a  rendezvous  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kio 
del  Oro,  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  and  uis  ship  really  met 


'  Li'.  ReprinBe  de  la  Floride,  par  le 
Capitaine  Gourgue,  ir  Ternaux  (pp. 
301-10),  Bays  one  hundred  urquebuB- 
iers.  and  mentiona  croBsbows  as  arms 
of  the  Bailors,  Baeanier,  p.  207,  De 
Gourgues  MS.  A  copy  made  by  Vi- 
comte  de  Gourgues,  apparently  from 
the*  manuscript  referred  to  (post,  p. 
Vol.  I.— 15 


320),  is  in  the  pogsession  of  Hon.  Geo. 
Bancroft.  It  makes  only  one  hundred 
soldiers  in  all.  Champlain  (Voyages, 
ed.  1632,  p.  21)  gives  him  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men,  and  makes  him 
sail  August  23. 

'  De  Gourgues  MS. ;  La  Reprinse, 
p.  309  ;  Basanier,  Hist.  Not.,  p.  207. 


il? 


226 


/I 


1567. 


f| 


1  '*;  I'    I 


lie   MHche* 

ofcuiw.    Little  AntUlcH. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

him  there.  Thonoe  he  ranged  tho  coant  to  Cape  Dhinco, 
where  three  petty  negro  princes  came  to  attack  him,  insti- 
gated by  the  Portugnese.  After  defeating  them  twice,  ho 
held  on  the  same  route  to  Cape  Verde,  whence  he  turned 
direct  to  America. 

The  first  land  that  he  made  was  Dominica,  one  of  the 
He  next  went  to  Porto  Rico  ;  then  to 
Monu,  the  cacique  of  which  gave  him  many  fresh  supplies. 
After  this,  wishing  to  make  the  mainland  of  Florida,  a  new 
storm  drove  him  into  tlie  port  of  St.  Nicholas,  on  tho  west 
side  of  St.  Domingo.  Here  he  caulked  one  of  his  vessels, 
which  the  storm  had  greatly  shattered,  causing  tho  loss  of 
a  good  part  of  his  supply  of  sea-biscuit.  To  crown  his 
troubles,  the  Spaniards  refused  to  sell  him  meal ;  a'^d  he 
had  only  just  left  the  port  of  St.  Nicholas,  when  a  f.triu.is 
storm  driving  him  on  tho  coast,  put  him  in  imminent 
danger  of  perishing.'  At  last,  with  great  ado,  ho  made 
Cape  San  Antonio,  tho  western  extremity  of  Cuba. 

There  assembling  all  his  men,  he  began  by  depicting 
to  them,  in  the  most  vivid  colors,  the  cruelties  perpe- 
trated by  tho  Spaniards  on  the  French  in  Florida.  "  This, 
comrades,  is  tho  crime  of  our  enemies.  And  what  will 
ours  be,  if  we  defer  longer  to  avenge  the  insult  oflferod  to 
the  French  nation  ?  This  induced  me  to  sell  all  my  prop- 
erty :  this  opened  the  purses  of  my  friends.  I  have 
counted  upon  you  :  I  have  deemed  you  sufficiently  jealous 
of  the  glory  of  your  country  to  sacrifice  life  itself  on  an 
occasion  of  this  importance.  Am  I  deceived  ?  I  hope  to 
set  you  an  example  ;  to  be  ever  at  your  head  ;  to  take  on 
myself  the  greatest  dangers.  Will  you  refuse  to  follow 
me?'" 

The  opening  of  this  address  excited  some  astonishment 
in  the  minds  of  many ;  but  at  last,  the  soldiers  taking  it 


■  La  Reprinse  de  la  Floride,  p. 
Bll-fl. 

'  The  autboritlea  give  the  sub- 
stauoe  of  the  speech.     Champlain 


(Voyages,  163?,  pp.  22,  -'3) gives  itaa 
a  speech,  though  Charlovoix  il?^  not 
seem  to  quote  the  speech  from  hini 
verbally. 


niHTORY  OK  NKW   FIIANCE, 


I  ♦ 


up  with  loud  cries  of  joy,  all  protonted  that  thoy  wore     1 568. 
ready  to  go  whorovor  ho  choso  to  load  th«m.    De  Gourf^iies    -*~  r  ~^' 
would  faiu  have  profited  by  thin  ardor,  aud  set  nail  at  iin  raaoh«« 
ODoe  ;  but  he  deoiued  it  wiser  to  wait  for  the  full  moon,  to 
pass  the  Bahama  Chauuel.     Ho  pasBed  it  at  last,  aud  hood 
descried  the  laud  of  Florida.     So  far  were  the  Spauiards 
from  imagining  that  there  was  any  idea  in  France  of  re- 
conquering the  country,  that,  on  perceiving  the  throe  ships, 
they  took  them  for  Spanish  vessels,  and  as  such  saluted 
thom  with  two  cannon,  when  they  saw  them  pass  May 
River.'    The  Chevalier  de  Gourgues  answered  them,  gun 
for  gtin ;  then  pushed  on,  and  standing  somewhat  out  at 
sea,  on  the  next  night  entered  the  Seine  River,*  fifteen 
leagues  distant  from  May  River. 

He  there  found  a  number  of  Indians,  who,  taking  him  inwimtdii- 
for  a  Spaniard,  prepared  to  oppose  his  lauding ;  but  he  ''a"I({»  the 
Bent  them  bis  trumpeter,  who  had  served  under  Mr.  de 
Laudonniere  in  Florida,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
language  of  the  country.  This  man  recognized  Saturiova, 
who  happened  to  be  with  the  paraousti  of  the  place,  and 
addressing  him,  told  him  that  the  French  came  to  renew 
the  alliance  which  they  had  had  with  him  the  preceding 
years  ;  and  the  manner  in  which  his  compliment  was 
received  gave  him  room  to  judge  that  these  tribes  were 
not  pleased  with  the  Spaniards. 

The  next  day,  Saturiova,  followed  by  a  great  number  of 
Indians,  approached  the  place  where  the  French  had 
landed,  and  asked  that  their  general  should  meet  him. 
Mr.  de  Gourgues  went  with  his  interpreter,  who  had 
scarcely  begun  to  speak,  wiien  the  paraousti,  interrupting 


Indiaiii. 


'  De  Ooorgiies  MS.  La  Reprinaa 
de  la  Florlde,  p.  321 ;  Bosanier,  p. 
208. 

'  A  manuscript  account  of  tliiu  ex- 
pedition, preserved  in  tlie  Royal  Li- 
brary, calls  the  river  Tacatacourou, 
and  says  that  the  king  of  the  people 


of  that  district  lx)re  the  same  name. 
— CharUwix,  This  manuscript  is 
the  Reprinse  de  la  Floride  printed  in 
Temaus,  and  previously  in  the  Ra- 
vue  Retrospective.  Basanier  (p.  208) 
says  the  same.  The  name  occurs  in 
Barcia,  pp.  181, 141. 


I 


!«e 


228 


mSTORT  OP  NEW  FRANCE 


1568.     him,  declared,  with  great  vivacity,  that  he  was  resolved  to 
'"^  ^ """ '  suffer  no  more  Spaniards  in  his  territories,  pretending  to 
have  strong  grounds  of  complaint  against  them.    He  added, 
that  the  French  would,  no  doubt,  join  him  to  avenge  their 
common  wrongs,  and  that,  on  his  side,  he  would  be  wanting 
Id  nothing  to  assure  his  vengeance. 
LewneooD-     De  Gourgues  replied  that  he  had  not  come  with  this 
tweon  them  view,  but  solelj  to  renew  the  former  alliance  of  the  French 
Frenoh!    '^th  the  Floridians,  and  after  ascertaining  their  disposi- 
tions towards  the  Spaniards,  to  return  to  France  for  a 
larger  force.    "  Still,"  he  added,  "  as  I  see  you  in  a  temper 
to  second  me,  and  impatient  to  be  rid  of  your  troublesome 
neighbors,  I  change  my  mind,  and  am  determined,  this 
moment,  to  attack  the  Spaniards  with  this  handful  of  sol- 
diers that  I  have  in  my  ships,  convinced  that  you  will  join 
me,  and  promising  myself  every  thing  from  your  fidelity 
and  valor." ' 

Saturiova  was  charmed  with  this  speech,  and  the  league 
was  soon  struck.  Presents  were  exchanged  ;  but  the 
paraousti  made  a  most  acceptable  one  to  the  Chevalier 
de  Gourgues.  He  brought  to  him  a  yoimg  man  named 
Pierre  de  Bray,  whom  he  had  kept  with  him,  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  efforts  of  the  Spaniards  to  obtain  him,  and 
whom  he  had  always  treated  as  a  son.'  On  the  following 
day,  all  the  paraoustis,  vassals,  or  aUies  of  Saturiova, 
assembled  to  dehberate  on  the  manner  of  attacking  the 
Spaniards ;  and  it  was  concerted  that  d'Estampe,  a  gentle- 
man of  Comminge,  and  Olocotora,  a  nephew  of  Saturiova, 
should  go  with  Pierre  de  Bray  to  reconnoitre  the  state  of 
affairs  at  San  Matheo.' 

But  the  general,  before  trusting  Mr.  d'Estampe  to  these 
savages,  wished  hostages  ;  and  Saturiova  gave  him  one  of 


'  La  Reprinee  de  la  Floriile,  pp. 
821-8  ;  Basanier,  p.  209. 

'  Debr^.  Gourgues  MS  ;  Barcia, 
Eusayo  Cronologloo,  p.  134 ;  La  Re- 
prinee,  p.  832. 


'  La  Reprinee  de  la  Floride  (pp. 
332, 333)  and  the  MS.  give  the  name, 
Olotoraca ;  Basanier,  Olotocara.  The 
first  part  correeponda  to  Holata, 
chief. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  PRANCE, 


229 


his  sons  and  his  most  beloved  wife.    At  the  end  of  three     1568. 
days,  the  &•  outs  returned,  announcing  that  the  enemy  ^-"~y^~' 
were  not  at  all  on  their  guard  ;  but  that  San  Matheo,  and  Preparation 
two  small  forts  which  they  had  added  on  either  side  of  the      taok. 
river,  were  in  very  good  condition.    De  Bray  at  the  same 
time  declared  that  the  garrison  of  these  three  forth  was 
four  hundred  men.    This  report  showed  de  Gourgues  that 
he  could  hope  for  success  in  the  attempt  only  by  surprise 
and  secrecy ;  and  having  appointed  the  Somme  Biver,* 
for  a  general  rendezvous  of  all  the  forces,  they  were  all 
there  at  the  day  prescribed. 

The  Indians,  after  drinking  their  apalachine,'  according 
to  their  custom,  swore  in  their  manner  not  to  abandon 
the  French,  and  they  at  once  marched.  They  endured 
much,  for  it  was  the  rainy  season ;  and  although  they 
made  only  two  leagues  the  first  day,  the  French  were 
extremely  fatigued.  There  were  still  two  leagues  to  make 
to  reach  the  first  of  the  two  forts  covering  San  Matheo, 
and  the  Chevalier  de  Gourgues  had  taken  nothing  all  day : 
yet  as  all  depended  on  diligence,  he  took  with  him  a  guide 
and  ten  arquebusiers,  and  started  to  reconnoitre  the  fort, 
which  Le  was  resolved  to  attack  the  next  morning ;  but  a 
small  river,  which  it  was  necessary  to  cross,  was  so  swol- 
len by  the  rains  and  by  the  tide,  which  was  still  rising, 
that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  advance  any  further. 

He  accordingly  returned  to  the  camp  quite  dejected ;  They  march 
but  an  Indian'  having  promised  to  lead  him  by  an  easier  "^  \o^_  "' 
path,  he  again  set  out  with  all  the  French,  ordering  the 
Indians  to  strike  through  the  woods,  and  meet  him  at  day- 
break at  the  passage  of  the  river.  This  order  was  punctu- 
ally executed  ;  but  the  river  was  not  yet  fordable  in  any 
place,  and  so  heavy  a  rain  came  on,  that  they  had  great 


'  The  inanDBcript  already  cited 
calls  it  Sardba. — Charlevoix.  Ter- 
naux  prints,  Halimacani  (p.  336). 
The  Sarabay  was  a  river  further  on 
(p.  339). 


3  See  p.  139.  This  is  the  "  black 
drink"  of  the  Creeks.  See  Park- 
man's  Pioneers,  p.  149. 

'  Hilicopile,  an  Indian  king.  La 
Reprinse,  p.  840  ;  Basanier,  p.  212, 


!\ 


:» 


'r,  J 


'■A 

if 


f    ,» 


230  HISTORY  OP  NEW  FUANCE. 

1568.  diflSculty  in  protecting  their  arms.  The  weather  cleared 
'  "^  ^  "^ '  at  last ;  and  Mr.  de  Gonrgues,  by  the  favor  of  a  little 
grove,  reconnoitred  the  fort  at  his  leisure.  He  perceived 
them  to  be  all  in  motion,  and  had  no  doubt  but  that  he 
was  discovered  ;  mt  he  was  mistaken,  leaning  subse- 
quently that  they     are  repairing  a  cistern. 

About  ten  o'clock,  the  tide  being  at  its  lowest,  they 
crossed,  though  not  without  difficulty ;  for  besides  the 
water  being  waist-high,  the  bottom  was  covered  with  large 
sharp'  oysters,  which  cut  the  shoes  and  even  the  feet  of  the 
soldiers.  The  Indians,  though  barefooted,  knew  Law  to 
avoid  them ;  and  there  were  very  few  at  this  passage,  most 
of  them  having  crossed  the  river  at  its  mouth  in  periaguas.' 
The  Spaniards  were  stil)  unaware  of  the  presence  of  the 
French  in  Florida ;  and  nothing  convinced  the  Chevalier  de 
Gourgues  more  of  the  hatred  of  the  natives  for  their  new 
neighbors,  than  the  secrecy  observed  on  this  occasion.  At 
last,  all  the  troops  having  crossed,  and  being  fuU  of  ardor  to 
come  to  action,  the  general  thought  the  time  too  precious 
to  waste  in  speeches.  He  contented  himself  with  showing 
his  soldiers  in  a  few  words  the  justice  of  their  cause,  which 
the  Almighty  himself  would  not  fail  to  favor;  and  he 
sounded  the  charge.  He  had  divided  his  little  troop  into 
two  bands :  giving  the  command  of  one  to  the  Sieur  de 
Casenove,  his  lieutenant,  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
rest,  and  advanced  slowly  in  order  of  battle.' 
ita  cai)ture.  The  moment  they  passed  the  wood  which  covered  it,  the 
•ifWdian.  Spaniards  fired  two  culverins  at  him,  that  Mr.  de  Laudon- 
niere  had  left  in  Caroline.  The  first  time,  they  fired  too 
far ;  but  they  were  reloading,  and  the  front  ranks  were  be- 
ginning to  waver,  when  the  brave  Olocotora,  who  never  left 
the  general,  glided  unperceived  to  the  foot  of  the  platform 
where  the  two  culverins  were  planted,  leaped  upon  it,  and 
drove  a  pike  which  he  bore  through  the  gunner's  body. 

>  BaMinier,  Hiatoire  Notable,  p.  313.    do  la  Fluride,  pp.  344, 345  ;  Basanier, 
»  De  Oourgues  MS. ;  La  Reprinse    p.  813. 


l> 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


231 


The  boldness  of  this  Indian  made  the  Spaniards  believe  1568. 
him  not  alone,  or  rather  deprived  them  of  all  sense.  A  ^— "v— ^ 
panic  seized  them  ;  they  rushed  out  of  the  fort,  and  began 
to  run  in  confusion  in  the  direction  of  where  Casenove 
was.  The  latter  by  cries  warned  de  Gourgues,  who  pushed 
forward;  and  inclosing  the  enemy  between  himself  and 
his  lieutenant,  fell  on  them  so  furiously,  that  out  of  sixty 
that  they  were,  there  remained,  after  the  first  rush,  only  a 
few  who  were  taken  and  reserved  for  a  less  glorious  end.' 

Meanwhile,  the  cannon  of  the  second  fort  kept  playing  xhe  second 
incessantly,  and  galled  our  men.    To  silence  their  fire,  the  °do"ed  a" 
general  planted  on  the  bank  of  the  river  the  two  culverins'  ^tmciot 
and  two  other  pieces  of  artillery  found  in  the  first  fort.    '^Un" 
This  had  its  eflTect.    He  then,  with  eighty  men,  crossed  in 
a  bark  which  he  had  ordered  up  for  the  purpose,  and  he 
had  promised  the  Indians  to  send  it  back  for  them  as  soon 
as  he  landed ;  but  they  had  not  the  patience  to  wait  for 
him,  and  swam  over,  yelling  fearfully.     The  Spaniards 
were  terrified  •   and  not  considering  themselves  safe  in 
their  intrenchments,  fled  to  the  woods,  where  Mr.  de 
Gourgues,  who  was  in  ambush,  surrounded  and  cut  them 
to  pieces.     Of  sixty  that  they  numbered,  he  spared  only 
fifteen,  whom  he  kept  as  prisoners.    He  then  entered  the 
fort,  which  he  found  untenanted.    He  demolished  it,  and 
put  the  provisions  and  arms  in  the  former,  which  he  made 
his  stronghold.    All  this  happened  on  the  eve  of  Low 
Sunday.' 

Caroline  still  had  a  garrison  of  over  two  himdred  men ; 
but  the  consternation  there  was  great.  The  Chevalier  de 
Gourgues  had  among  his  prisoners  an  old  sergeant,  from 


'  La  Reprinse  de  la  Floride,  p.  346 ; 
Baeanier,  pp.  213,  314. 

"  The  mannscript  Relation,  pre- 
served in  the  family  of  Messrs.  de 
Gourgues,  speaks  only  of  one  culverin 
with  the  arms  of  France  and  the 
name  of  Henry  II.,  and  of  three 


pieces  of  cannon. — Charlevoix.    The 
Reprinse  de  la  Floride  (p.  346)  says 
the  same.    Basanier  (p.  2 1 3)  does  not 
specify,  but  says,  four  cannon. 
» La  Reprinse  de  H  Floride,  p. 


349; 
216. 


Basanier,  Histoire  Notable,  p. 


:/ 


^???S3F!^!SSSHfS 


.■»«i» 


232 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1568. 


He  marches 
on  the  fort. 


whom  by  menaces  he  drew  an  account  and  plan  of  the 
fort.  Having  examined  it  carefully,  he  was  convinced  that 
nn  escalade  was  the  surest  means  of  carrying  it,  and  he 
resolved  to  attempt  it.  He  spent  Sunday  and  Monday  in 
preparation ;'  and  rudanwhile  so  many  Indians  gathered, 
that  as  they  filled  all  the  ground  around  Caroline,  it  was 
impossible  for  the  Spaniards  to  get  out  to  reconnoitre  the 
force  of  their  assailants.  One  made  the  attempt,  disguised 
as  an  Indian  ;  but  Olocotora  detecting  him,  brought  him 
to  the  general.  This  man  declared  that  he  was  one  of  the 
garrison  of  the  second*  fort,  and  that  he  had  disguised 
himself  to  escape  more  readily,  expecting  no  quarter  if  he 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians ;  that  it  was  his  inten- 
tion to  throw  himself  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  believ- 
ing his  life  secure  when  he  was  the  prisoner  of  a  nation 
renowned  throughout  the  world  for  its  humanity.  Unfor- 
tunately for  him,  the  sergeant  already  mentioned  unwit- 
tingly betrayed  him,  declaring  that  he  belonged  to  the 
garrison  of  San  Matheo ;  on  which  he  was  placed  with 
those  reserved  for  punishment.  It  was  ascertained  from 
this  spy,  that  what  took  all  courage  from  the  garrison  of 
Sau  Matheo  was  the  conviction  that  the  French  were  at 
least  two  thorsand  strong ;  and  de  Gourgues  thought  it 
imwise  to  gire  them  time  to  learn  their  error  or  recover 
from  their  fright." 

He  accordingly  prepared  with  aU  dihgence  to  begin  the 
attack  at  daybreak  on  Tuesday.  He  sent  the  Sieur  de 
Mesmes,  his  ensign,  with  twenty*  arquebusiere,  to  guard 
the  mouth  of  the  river ;  he  sent  the  Indians  to  lie  in 
ambush  in  the  woods  on  both  sides  of  the  river ;  finally, 
he  himself  marched  before  dawn,  taking  the  sergeant  and 
the  spy  as  guides.  Olocotora  was  with  him ;  and  this 
Indian  had  taken  it  into  his  head  that  he  would  never 
return  from  this  expedition,  basing  hie  presentiment  ap- 


•  \ 


'  La  Reprinse  de  la  Floride,  p.  349.    p.  850,  says  (he  was  of  the)  ^—t  furt. 
*  Basanier,    Histoire    Notable,   p.        'La  Reprinse,  p.  350. 
215.    The  La  Reprinse  de  la  Floride,        'Fifteen.    La  Reprinse,  p.  .351. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


288 


parentlj  on  a  dream.  He  mentioned  it  to  de  Gourgues.  1568. 
"  I  know,  captain,"  said  he,  "  that  I  shall  be  killed  in  ^-^"v— ' 
the  attack  on  the  fort ;  yet  I  will  not  leave  you.  I  hold 
my  life  as  nothing,  I  shall,  at  least,  have  the  consolation 
of  dying  as  a  brave.  But  I  beg  you  to  give  my  wife  my 
share  of  the  booty,  to  put  with  my  body  in  the  tomb,  that 
I  may  be  better  received  in  the  spirit-lanri." 

Mr.  de  Gourgues  replied  that  he  hoped  to  restore  him, 
safe  and  sound,  to  his  family ;  but  that,  alive  or  dead,  his 
memory  should  be  ever  dear  to  him,  and  that  he  would 
show  in  every  way  how  much  he  owed  to  his  zeal  and 
valor.  They  marched  openly  along  the  river  ;  but  as  they 
were  annoyed  by  the  fire  of  two  culverL-  •  planted  on  a 
kind  of  bulwark  commanding  the  bank,  they  sheltered 
themselves  behind  the  hill,  at  the  foot  of  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  fort  stood.  The  general  thus  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  examine  the  place  well ;  and  with  the  help  of  his 
two  prisoners,  he  ascertained  to  a  certainty  its  strong  and 
weak  points.  He  saw,  in  a  word,  that  he  must  attack 
from  the  hill-side,  a:<  the  Spaniards  did  two  years  before. 

It  was  somewhat  late  when  every  man  got  to  his  post,  Capture  of 
and  the  chevalier  wished  to  defer  the  attack  till  morning  ;  *theo.*" 
but  the  besieged  having  made  a  sortie  with  eighty'  arque- 
busiers,  hastened  their  r"'n.  Casenove  was  detached 
against  them,  with  twenty  cuirassiers,  to  draw  them  on ; 
while  the  general  cut  off  their  retreat,  and  fell  on  them 
with  a  superior  force.  The  Spaniards,  who  kept  advancing, 
were  much  astonished  to  find  themselves  between  two 
fires ;  yet  they  fought  nobly,  and  were  slain  almost  to  a 
man.  The  gaixison,  witnessing  this  defeat,  absolutely  iost 
heart  ;  and  all,  without  awaiting  orders,  fled  into  the 
woods,  where  the  Indians,  who  awaited  them,  gave  quarter 
to  none.  Some  turned  in  the  other  direction  ;  but  there 
they  met  Mr.  de  Gourgues,  who  brought  down  most  of 

'  La  Reprinse  de  la  Florida  (p.  Spaniards  that  thej  had  to  fight  in 
853)  says,  sixty.    It  was  always  sixty    each  of  the  three  engagements. 


!h 


m 


234 


1S68. 


Booty  taken 
tliere. 


Reflection 

on  this  con- 

duc^ 


,?    * 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

them,  and  had  no  small  difficulty  in  saving  the  rest  from 
the  hands  of  ths  Indians,  to  hand  them  over  to  the  execu- 
tioners.' 

San  Matheo  being  now  without  defenders,  the  general 
entered  with  all  his  troops,  who  took  a  conaiderable  booty. 
There  were  in  it,  five  double  culverins ;  four  medium-sized 
and  some  small  iron  and  brass  cannon ;  eighteen  barrels 
of  powder ;  and  a  very  large  stock  of  arms  of  all  kinds, 
which  were  conveyed  to  the  bark  used  for  transporting 
the  troops.  The  powder  'vas,  however,  lost  by  one  of 
those  accidents  which  it  is  difficult  to  avoid.  An  Indian, 
cooking  a  fish  quite  far  from  the  magazine,  let  some  fire 
fall  on  a  train  of  powder  which  had  not  been  perceived, 
and  by  means  of  which  the  Spaniards  intended  to  blow  up 
the  French,  in  case  they  forced  the  breach.  Fortunately, 
no  one  was  near  enough  to  be  injured,  although  the  mag- 
azine blew  up. 

The  general  gave  his  men  and  the  Indians  their  time  to 
pillage ;  and  also  made  liberal  presents  to  the  latter,  who 
seemed  much  more  charmed  with  his  manners  than  his 
gifts.  He  then  had  all  his  prisoners  brought  to  the  same 
spot  where  tho  French  had  been  massacred,  and  where 
Menendez  had  engraved  on  a  stone  these  words  :  "  I  do 
not  do  this  as  to  Frenchmen,  but  as  to  Lutherans."  He 
reproached  them  with  their  cruelty,  their  perfidy,  their 
violation  of  oaths  ;"  then  hung  them  all  on  a  tree  :  and  in- 
stead of  the  former  inscription,  put  on  a  pine  board  :  "  I 
do  not  do  this  as  to  Spaniards,  nor  as  to  maranes ;'  but 
as  to  traitors,  robbers,  and  murderers."  * 

Some  his  ;oriaus  seem  to  approve  this  conduct  as  just 
and  legitimate  ;  and  it  woxild,  indeed,  have  some  show  of 
justice,  especially  supposing  that  the  Spaniards  had,  as  all 
then  supposed,  violated  their  oath.    But  apart  from  the 


'  La  ReprinBe  de  la  Floride,  p. 
865 ;  Basanier,  p.  217. 

*  The  reader  must  remember  the 
account  of  the  sailor,  whose  fidelity 


waB  not  then  disputed. — Oharlewix. 

'  A  nickname  for  Spaniards. 

*  La  Reprinse  de  la  Floride,  pp. 
356-9 ;  Basan.,  p.  218 ;  Gourgues  Ma 


\  I 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


235 


V 


fact  that  reprisals  are  rarely  exempt  from  injustice,  inas- 
much as  they  more  generally  fall  on  the  innocent  than  on 
the  guilty,  I  do  rot  hesitate  to  say,  that  the  expedition  of 
the  Chevalier  de  Gourgues,  hitherto  so  glorious  for  him- 
self and  honorable,  for  his  nation,  would  have  been  in- 
finitely exalted  b;  so  acting,  that  his  moderation  and 
French  generosity  formed  a  noble  contrast  to  the  inhu- 
manity of  the  Spaniards,  rather  than  by  closing  it  with 
the  same  fury  that  he  detested  in  them.  Is  it  not  shame- 
ful for  Christians  not  to  have  thought  as  an  idolatrous 
prince  once  did  on  a  similar  occasion  ? ' 

Moreover,  the  applause  bestowed  everywhere  on  this 
gentleman,  and  which  it  was  impossible  to  refuse  to  an 
achievement  which  may  be  reckoned  among  the  most 
memorable  of  the  kind  ever  accomplished  in  war,  were  all 
the  fruits  of  victory  left  to  him.  He  nad  not  force  enough 
to  make  good  his  hold  in  Florida  against  tie  Spaniards  of 
St.  Augustine.  He  could  not  expect  to  receive,  at  least 
for  some  years,  any  aid  from  France  ;  and  he  was  aware 
that  the  interested  aid  of  the  Indians  would  last  only  as 
long  as  he  was  iii  a  condition  to  show  them  favors  and 
protect  them  from  the  vengeance  of  a  nation  against 
whom  they  had  just  declared  themselves  so  strongly.  Yet 
he  was  apparently  ignorant  that  the  Spaniards  were  so 
near  him  ;  and  I  find  that  our  writers  of  that  time  suppose 
that  Dolphin  Piver  was  not  inhabited  under  the  name  of 
St.  Augustine  till  some  years  later. 

But  the  Chevalier  de  Gourgues  had  only  what  provisions 
he  needed  to  return  to  France ;  and  it  was  solely  this  last 
consideration  that  induced  him  to  raze  the  three  forts 
which  he  had  just  captured.    He  sent  all  the  aiiillery  of 


I  After  the  defeat  of  Mardonius, 
one  of  the  generals  of  Xerxes,  some 
having  proposed  to  Pausanias,  king 
of  Sparta,  to  treat  the  dead  body  of 
that  satrap  a8  Xerxes  had  treated 
Leonidas,  killed    at  the   battle  of 


Florida 

evaoQBt«d 

by  the 

French. 


Thermopylse,  whom  that  prince  had 
hung  on  a  gibbet :  "  Little  dost  thou 
know  glory,"  replied  Pausanias,  "  if 
thou  thinkest  that  I  can  acquire 
much  by  imitating  barbarians." — 
Ofuirhvoix, 


i 


'/.!, 


236 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1568. 


1568. 


The  Cliova 

tier  de 

GourgueH 

arrives  ia 

France, 


He  narrow- 
ly escapes 
being  car- 
ried otf  by 
tlie  tSpan- 
iardH. 


those  three  works  by  sea  to  his  ships,  which  he  had  left  in 
the  Seine,  and  marched  there,  with  all  his  force,  by  land, 
after  taking  leave  of  the  Indians,  who  seemed  to  witness 
his  departure  with  regret,  but  whom  he  endeavored  to 
console  with  hopes  of  his  returr..  All  of  them  whom  he 
met  on  his  way  gave  him  the  strongest  marks  of  friend- 
ship and  esteem.  Several  paraoustiw,  among  whom  Satu- 
riova  distinguished  V'mself  th  mo  it,  swore  an  inviolable 
attachment  to  him;  u  0  th  :  rive  Olocotora,  whose  pre- 
sentiments were  not  i'  >  ■'•!.!  ^j.  j,  "er  left  him  while  he  was 
in  Florida,  and  burst  '^k)  i>.<>iiV  on  bidding  him  a  last 
farewell.' 

On  the  3d  of  May  the  three  ships  se^  sail,  and  on  Whit- 
sunday, the  6th  of  June,  the  Chevalier  de  Gourgues 
anchored  in  the  port  of  Rochelle,  after  experiencing  vio- 
lent storms  and  suffering  greatly  from  hunger,  his  pro- 
visions having  been  spoiled.'  He  even  lost  his  tender, 
with  eight  men ;  and  one  of  his  ships,  which  got  sepan^ted 
from  the  rost  off  Bermuda,  did  not  arrive  till  a  month 
later.  His  expedition  had  cost  him  only  some  soldiers, 
and  five  gentlemen,  whom  he  greatly  regretted.  One  was 
of  Saintonge,  by  name  Pons ;  the  four  others — Anthony 
de  Limosny,  Bierre,  Carreau,  and  Gachie — were  Gascons. 
But  he  had  well-nigh  found  in  the  port  something  more 
disagreeable  than  the  shipwreck  which  he  had  just 
avoided.' 

It  is  not  easy  to  see  how  the  tidings  of  his  enterprise 
(of  which,  he  supposed,  he  bore  the  first  news  to  France) 
had  already  reached  the  court  of  Spain  ;  yet  he  had 
scarcely  left  Rochelle  for  Bordeaux,  when  nineteen  Span- 
ish cutters,  with  another  vessel  of  two  hundred  tons, 
entered  the  roadstead  which  he  had  just  left,  in  order  to 
carry  him  off;  and  they,  in  fact,  pursued  him  as  far  as 


1  La  Reprinae  de  la  Floride,   p.  864 ;  Basanier,  Histoire  Notable,  p. 

861 ;  Basanier,  Histoire  Notable,  pp.  220. 

219,  230.  •  La  Reprinae  de  la  Floride,  p. 

'  La  Reprinae  de  la  Floride,  p,  864. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCR 


237 


Hoii 
obligod  to 
disappear. 


Blaye.  His  stay  at  Bordeaux  did  not  exceed  that  at  i;68. 
Bochelle.  He  repaired  first  to  Mr.  de  Montluo,  under  '"^v" 
whom  he  had  served  in  TuE";any,  and  who  praised  liim 
highly.  By  this  general's  advice  he  went  to  the  court ; 
but  he  was  ill  received  there.  He  was  even  advised 
privately  to  withdraw,  unless  he  wished  to  be  sacrificed  to 
the  resentment  of  the  CathoUc  king,  who  loudly  demanded 
his  head,  for  which  he  offered  a  reward,  and  whom  the 
French  king  then  humored  greatly,  as  he  expected  aid 
from  him  against  the  rebels. 

In  fact,  the  queen-mother  and  the  faction  of  the  princes 
of  Lorraine  declared  against  him  ;  and  it  was  proposed  to 
bring  him  to  trial  for  undertaking  the  expedition  without 
orders.  He  was  for  a  long  time  concealed  at  Bouen  by 
President  de  Marigny ;  and  as  he  was  far  from  having 
brought  back  enough  from  Florida  to  discharge  the  debts 
which  he  had  contracted  to  enable  him  to  expel  the 
Spaniards,  he  would  have  had  great  difficulty  in  finding 
means  of  subsistence,  but  for  the  aid  given  him  by  that 
magistrate  and  some  of  his  old  friends.  Queen  Elizabeth, 
then  reigning  in  England,  soon  after  made  him  very  ad- 
vantageous offers,  it  he  would  enter  her  service ;  but  his 
royal  master,  who  had  really  been  charmed  with  his  ex- 
ploit, having  publicly  restored  him  to  favor,  de  Gourgues 
thanked  the  English  queen. 

At  last  Don  Antonio  offered  him  the  command  of  the  Hisdeftth. 
fleet  which  he  was  fitting  out  to  support  his  right  to  the 
crown  of  Portugal,  which  Philip  II.  had  seized.  He  joy- 
fully embraced  so  fine  an  opportunity  of  again  making 
war  on  the  Spaniards ;  but  having  set  out  to  meet  the 
Portuguese  prince,  he  fell  sick  at  Tours  and  died  there,' 


HI 


■  Basanicr,  Hiatoire  Notable,  p. 
232,  ^vee  the  date  as  1382— tliat  is, 
four  years  before  the  appearance  of 
his  work,  and  fourteen  after  the  Flo- 
rida voyage,  a  much  longer  period 
than  the  text  would  lead  one  to  in- 


fer. Chauveton's  edition  of  Benzonl, 
though  published  in  1579,  and  con- 
sequently a  year  after  de  Gourgues' 
death,  does  not  allude  to  his  expedi- 
tion at  all — a  somewhat  remarkable 


Mi 


'...c.> 


238 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE, 


1 568.  universally  regretted — leaviug  a  reputation  as  one  of  the 
bravest  and  ablest  captains  of  his  time,  as  capable  of  com- 
manding a  fleet  as  an  army.  Worthy,  undoubtedly,  of  the 
greatest  eulogiums,  had  be  not  listened  to  resentment  for 
his  private  wrongs  in  the  most  brilliant  action  of  his  life  ; 
had  he  had  no  other  motive  than  zeal  for  the  honor  of  the 
French  name.' 


'  Baeanier,  HiBtoire  Notable,  pp. 
223,  223.  Barcia,  in  the  Ensayo 
Cronologico,  simply  embmliee  the 
French  account,  and  gives  no  con- 
temporary Spanish  matter.  Indeed, 
there  geems  to  be  none  ;  the  moat 
pertinacious  research  of  Buckingham 
Smith  in  the  Spanish  archives  re- 
lating to  Florida,  at  the  time,  failed 
to  discover  the  slightest  allusion  to 
Any  such  capture  of  San  Mateo  and 


two  adjacent  forta.  Parkman  ad- 
mits that  there  is  a  savor  of  ro- 
mance in  the  French  account.  New 
light  may  be  hereafter  thrown  on 
the  matter,  and  reduce  de  Gourgues' 
exiiedition  to  a  mer«  slaving  and 
piratical  cruise,  such  as  was  com- 
mon at  the  day  and  not  deemed  dis- 
graceful. This  may  hereafter  lead 
to  some  doubts  as  to  the  exploit  of 
de  Qourgnee, 


i^t 


# 


BOOK    III. 


:  SI 


HIBTORT  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


341 


I  ■  / 


BOOK    [TI. 


Althouoh,  by  ovacuatiog  Florida  after  de  Qourgaes'  1598. 
Buccessfu]  expedition,  France  seemed  to  renounce  all  set-  ^-""v— ' 
tling  on  the  mainland  of  America,  the  NormanB,  Basques, 
and  Bretons  still  continued  to  take  the  whale  and  cod  on 
the  Qreat  Bank  and  along  the  shores  of  Newfoundland, 
on  all  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  great  river  that 
empties  into  it.  Some  even  gradually  opened  a  traffic 
with  the  natives  of  the  country ;  and  the  fur-trade  began 
to  become  an  object  which  the  love  of  novelty,  and  the 
ease  with  which  the  commerce  was  conducted,  made  more 
attractive  than  the  fisheries,  transforming  many  of  our 
sailors  into  merchants. 

At  last,  in  1598,  France,  after  fifty  years  of  domestic  Attempt*  of 
trouble,  having  recovered  her  pristine  tranquillity  by  the  do'i»  Koohe 
valor,  activity,  and  clemency  of  Henry  IV.,  and  finding  '"  *"'    " 
herself  equal  to  any  enterprise  under  the  ablest  of  her 
kings,  the  taste  for  colonizing  again  sprang  up,  and  the 
Marquis  de  la  Roche,  a  Breton  gentleman,  obtained  from 
his  majesty  the  same  commission  and  the  same  powers 
enjoyed  by  Mr.  de  Roberval  under  Francis  I.,  and  already 
granted  to  himself  by  Henry  III.,  but  which  he  had  not 
been  in  a  position  to  exercise.    His  letters  patent,  dated 
January  12, 1598,'  state  that  conformably  to  the  vnll  of  the 


n 


i ' 


'  Mr.  de  la  Roche  is  there  storied  : 
TroiluB  de  Mesgoaet,  Chevalier  of 
our  Order,  Councillor  in  our  Council 
of  State,  captain  ot  -  ny  men-at-arms 
of  our  ordnance,  Mfc/'iuis  de  Coten- 
meal,  Baron  de  Las,  Viscount  of 
Vol.  I.-18 


Carentan  and  St.  Lo  in  Normandj, 
Viscount  of  Trevallot,  Sieur  de  la 
Roche,  Goramard  and  Qnermoulec, 
of  Qomal,  BonteguiSo,  and  Liscuit. 
—Charlevoix.  Lescarbot  (ed.  1618), 
p.  400.    Memoir,  des  Comm.,  ii.  436. 


242 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


1598. 


His  coDi- 
mission. 


late  king,  Henry  III.,  his  majesty  has  created  him  his 
lieutenant-general  in  the  coxmtries  of  Canada,  Hochelaga, 
Newfoundland,  Labrador,  River  of  the  Great  Bay,'  Norim- 
begue  and  adjacent  lands,'  on  the  following  conditions. 

That  he  shall  especially  keep  ia  view  the  estabUshment 
of  the  Catholic  faith  ;  that  his  authority  shall  extend  over 
all  military  and  naval  forces ;  that  he  shall  choose  the  cap- 
tains, masters  of  ships,  and  pilots ;  that  he  shall  have 
power  to  command  them  in  whatever  he  sees  fit,  without 
their  having  the  right  to  disobey  him  under  any  pretext ; 
that  he  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  the  ships  and  crews 
that  he  shall  find  in  the  ports  of  France  ready  to  sail;  to 
raise  as  many  troops  as  he  wUl,  make  war,  build  forts  and 
towns,  give  laws,  punish  the  violation  thereof,  or  par- 
don; grant  lands  to  gentlemen  as  fiefs,  seigneuries,  cas- 
telries,  counties,  viscoimties,  baronies,  and  other  digni- 
ties depending  on  the  king,  as  he  shall  deem  advantageous 
to  the  service,  and  to  other  people  of  lower  rank,  at  such 
annual  rents  and  charges  as  he  shall  see  fit  to  impose — 
but  from  which  they  shall  be  exempt  the  first  six  years, 
anfJ  mc.-'*  if  he  deems  it  necessary  ;  that  on  returning 
frc  1  his  expedition,  he  shall  have  power  to  divide  among 
those  who  make  the  voyage  with  him,  the  third  of  oU  the 
movable  gains  and  profits,  retain  another  for  himself,  and 
apply  the  third  to  the  expenses  of  war,  fortification,  and 
other  common  charges ;  that  all  the  gentlemen,  mer- 
chants, and  others,  who  wish  to  accompany  him  at  their 
own  expense  or  otherwise,  shall  be  allowed  to  do  so  with 
all  freedom,  but  not  to  trade  without  his  license — and  that 
under  pain  of  confiscation  of  their  ships,  merchandise, 
and  other  effects ;  that  in  case  of  sickness  or  death,  he 
shall  have  power,  by  will  or  otherwise,  to  appoint  one  or 
two  lieutenants  in  his  stead  ;  that  he  shall  have  power  to 
raise  mechanics  and  others  necessary  for  the  success  of 


<  The  St.  Lawrence  was  then  called 
by  this  name. — Charlevoix. 


*  Thig  will  cover  Maine  and  Nova 
Scotia. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


243 


fj* 


1. 


his  enterprise  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom ;  in  a  word,     i  S9^- 
that  he  shall  enjoy  the  same  rights,  privileges,  power,  and  ^-^v— ' 
authority  as  were  conferred  on  the  Sieur  de  Roberval  by 
King  Francis  I.' 

The  Marquis  de  la  Boche,  invested  with  a  commission  Failure  of 
which  enabled  him  to  undertake  any  thing,  wished  to  ex-     prize, 
amine  the  country  in  person.    He  fitted  out  a  vessel  the 
same  year,  and  embarked  with  Chedotel,  a  skilful  Norman 
pilot.   The  first  land  that  he  made  was  Sable  Island,  about  Description 

*^  of  Sable 

twenty-five  leagues  southeast  of  Cape  Breton,'  and  as-  Hiand. 
serted  to  be  the  spot  where  the  Baron  do  Lery  in  1508 
had  wished  to  plant  a  colony."  His  choice  was  a  most 
wretched  one.  Sable  Island  with  difficulty  produces  a  few 
shrubs  and  grass,  no  land  being  less  adapted  for  the 
habitation  of  man.  It  is,  moreover,  very  small,  and  has 
no  harbor.  This  island  lies  at  44°  12'  N.  The  variation 
observed  there  is  13°  N.  E.  It  is  very  narrow,  and  is  shaped 
like  a  bow.  In  the  middle  of  the  island  is  a  lake  about 
five  leagues  in  circumfereace,  that  of  the  island  being  ten 
or  thereabouts.  Its  two  extremities  are  reefs  of  sand,  one 
running  N.  E.  |  E.  and  the  other  southeast.  It  is  thirty- 
five  leagues  north  and  south  of  Camceaux,  and  has  sand- 
mountains  discernible  seven  or  eight  leagues  off.  Here 
Mr.  de  la  Boche  landed  forty  wretched  men,  whom  he  had 
drawn  from  the  prisons  in  France,  and  who  soon  found 
themselves  more  badly  situated  than  in  their  dungeons.* 

He  then  went  to  explore  the  shores  of  the  nearest 
mainland,  whic? i  is  Acadia  ;  and  after  obtaining  all  such 
information  as  he  thought  he  needed,  he  hoisted  sail  for 
France.     It  was  his  intention  to  sail  back  by  the  way  of 


'  See  his  Commiasion  in  Lescarbot 
(ed.  1609),  p.  434 ;  ed.  1611,  p.  422. 

•  Champlain  (ed.  1632),  p.  33. 

*  Lescarbot,  Histoire  de  la  Nou- 
velle  France  (ed.  1618),  p.  21.  He 
is  there  styled,  Le  Sieur  Baron  de 
Leri  etde  St.  Just,  Vicomte  de  Queu. 
See  also  Bergeron,  TraitS  de  la  Na- 


vigation, ch.  XX.  Charlevoix  (p.  28) 
omits  de  Leri's  attempt,  unless  we  are 
to  infer  that  Aubert  sailed  under  his 
orders.  Memoires  des  Commissalres, 
i.  28. 

*  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  1613), 
p.  4 ;  ed.  1632,  p.  32  ;  Lescarbot  (ed. 
1618),  pp.  21,  406,  407. 


i  r  ifl 


H 


0 


244 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1 598.  Salle  Island,  and  take  on  board  those  •whom  he  had  left 
^^"v-'"^  there;  but  head  winds  prevented  his  lauding.  Various  mis- 
chances detained  him  in  France  the  succeeding  years,  and 
prevented  his  following  the  enterprise.  He  was  for  more 
than  a  year  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  Duke  de  Mer- 
coeur,  who  was  then  master  in  Brittany ;'  and  personages 
of  rank,  to  whom  his  zeal  for  the  CathoUc  religion  was 
distasteful,  found  means  to  prevent  the  effects  of  the 
king's  good- will  towards  .him.  The  result  was,  that  as  he 
had  expended  large  amoimts  which  had  yielded  no  return, 
he  was  no  longer  in  a  position  to  continue  them  ;  and  it  is 
HiB  error,  asseited  that  he  died  of  chagrin  in  consequence.' 

The  fault  which  he  committed  was  not  settling  in  Aca- 
dia, where  a  single  sedentary  fishery,  which  would  not 
have  cost  him  a  great  deal,  would  have  produced  sure  and 
speedy  rettirns.  The  forty  poor  wretches  whom  he  left  on 
Sable  Island  found  on  the  seashore  some  wrecks  of  ves- 
sels, out  of  which  they  built  barracks  to  shield  them- 
selves from  the  severity  of  the  weather.  Tbey  were  the 
remains  of  Spanish  vessels,  whicJi  had  sailed  to  settle 
Cape  Breton.  From  these  same  ships  had  come  some 
sheep  and  cattle,  which  had  multiplied  on  Sable  Island  ; 
and  this  was  for  some  time  a  resource  for  these  poor 
exiles.    Fish  was  their  next  food  ;  and  when  their  clothes 


I  r 


'  Mr.  Pol  (le  Courcy,  in  the  Bio- 
praphie  Qenerale  des  HoinmeB  II- 
luBtres  de  la  Bretagne,  bLows  that 
this  is  an  error,  as  Mercocur  was  not 
governor  of  Brittany  in  1508.  If 
arrested,  it  was  in  1588  ;  and  the 
voyage  to  America  must  have  been, 
he  thinks,  in  1578,  in  wliich  year  he 
obtained  of  Henry  III.  a  commissi- i 
to  explore,  and  letters  patent  as  gov- 
ernor, lieutenant-grneral,  and  vice- 
roy. Ferlnnd,  Cours  d'Histoire,  i. 
pp.  58-CO  ;  Documents  de  la  Societe 
Historique  de  Montreal,  i.  i>.  100. 
Qarneau,  in  his  able  history  of  Can- 
ada (i.  p.  34,  n.),  does  not  find  the 


arguments  of  Mr.  de  Courcy  conclu- 
sive ;  and  Mr.  Faillon  does  not  allude 
to  Mr.  de  Courcy  in  his  recent  work. 
The  patent  to  the  marquis  was  is- 
sued January  12,  1598  ;  but  as  Mer- 
coeur  surrendered  to  the  king  with- 
in two  months  of  that  time— the 
edict  of  Henry  IV.,  reciting  his  sur- 
render, bearing  date  March  26, 1598 
(Memoires  de  la  Ligue,  Paris,  1599, 
vi.,  pp.  (i25-40)-de  la  Roche  could 
not  have  sailed  to  America,  returned, 
and  fallen  into  Merccenr's  hands  in 
1598. 

^  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  1G32), 
p.  33. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


245 


1  !• 


Voeage  of 
Chauvin. 


were  worn  out,  they  made  new  ones  of  seal-skin.'  At  last,  1598. 
after  a  lapse  of  seven  years,  the  king  having  heard  of  their  — -v-— 
adventure,  obliged  Chedotel,  the  pilot,  to  go  for  them ; 
but  he  found  only  twelve,  the  rest  having  died  of  their 
hardships.'  His  majesty  desired  to  see  those  who  re- 
turned, in  the  same  guise  as  found  by  Chedotel, — covered 
with  seal-skin,  with  hair  and  beard  of  a  length  and  dis- 
order that  made  them  resemble  the  pretended  river-gods, 
and  so  disfigured  as  to  inspire  horror.  The  king  gave 
them  fifty  crowns  apiece,  and  sent  them  home  released 
from  all  process  of  law.* 

The  failure  of  the  attempt  of  the  Marquis  de  la  Eoche  1600-2. 
did  not  prevent  others  from  soliciting,  on  his  death,  a 
grant  of  the  commission  which  he  had  obtained  from  the 
king.  The  Sieur  de  Pontgrave,  an  able  navigator  and  one 
of  the  chief  merchants  of  St.  Malo,  had  made  several  voy- 
ages to  Tadoussac,  and  saw  that  the  fur-trade,  if  confined 
to  a  single  hand,  might  become  the  foundation  of  a  great 
trade.  He  proposed  to  Mr.  Chauvin,  captain  of  a  ship,  to 
ask  of  the  king  the  exclusive  privilege  with  all  the  prerog- 
atives attached  to  the  commission  of  the  Marquis  de  la 
Roche.  Mr.  Chauvin  reUshed  the  proposal,  employed  his 
fi'iends  at  court,  and  obtained  his  wish.  He  immediately 
equipped  some  vessels  of  light  draught,  and  sailed  to  Ta- 
doussac with  them.' 

Pontgrave,  whc  sailed  with  them,  wished  to  run  up  to  His  erroi* 
Three  Rivers,  because  that  spot,  which  he  had  carefully 
examined,  seemed  to  him  better  fitted  than  any  other  for 
a  settlement :'  but  it  was  not  in  Mr.  Chauvin's  plan  to 
make  any ;  still  less  to  carry  out  the  article  in  his  com- 
mission in  regard  to  the  Catholic  religion,  being  himself  a 


'  In  1580,  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert 
perished  from  trying  to  get  cattle  off 
Sable  Island,  where  he  had  heard 
that  they  had  been  left  by  Portu- 
guese, thirty  years  before. 

'  Chaniplain,  Voyages  (ed.  1613),  p. 
7 ;  ed.  1032,  pp.  33,  33.     Lescarbot 


attributes  the  cattle  to  Baron  de  Leri, 
as  to  'whom  Cliamplain  is  silent. 

'  Champlain,  Voy.  (ed.  1033),  p,  33. 

•  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  lOld), 
p.  4.  He  says  Chauvin  sailed  in  1599 
(ed.  1033),  p.  34. 

■■>  Champlain,  Voy.  (ed.  1033),  p.  30. 


m 


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mi 


246 


1601-2. 


1603. 

Enterprise 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

Calvinist.  He  wished  merely  to  barter  merchandise  for 
furs,  with  which  he  soou  filled  his  vessels.  He  left  some 
of  his  people,  however,  at  Tadoussac,  who  would  have 
perished  of  hunger  or  disease  during  the  winter,  but  for 
the  compassion  of  the  Indians.'  He  returned  early  the 
next  year  to  his  trade,  and  his  second  voyage  was  no  less 
profitable  than  the  former.  He  was  preparing  for  a  third, 
when  death  put  an  end  to  his  projects.' 

The  Commander  de  Chatte,  governor  of  Dieppe,  suc- 
ceeded him,  formed  a  company  of  Rouen  merchants,  with 


oc  the  Com-  whom  several  persons  of  rank  entered  in  partnership,  and 

inander   de  '■  '■  '^ 

Chatte.  fitted  out  an  expedition,  which  he  confided  to  the  direc- 
tion of  Pontgrave,  to  whom  the  king  had  given  letters 
patent  to  continue  discoveries  in  the  River  of  Canada,  and 
to  make  settlements  there.  At  the  same  time  Samuel  de 
ChamplaiiL,  a  gentleman  of  Saintonge,  a  sea-captein,  re- 
puted a  brave,  able,  and  experienced  officer,  arrived  from 
the  West  Indies,  where  he  had  spent  two  years  and  a  half." 
Commander  de  Chatte  proposed  a  voyage  to  Canada  to 
him,  and  he  consented,  with  the  king's  approval. 
Cham-  He  set  out  with  Pontgrave  in  1603.*  They  made  but  a 
voyage,  short  stay  at  Tadoussac,  where  they  left  their  vessels,  ana 
taking  a  light  boat,  with  five  sailors,  they  ascended  the 
river  to  Sault  St.  Louis ;'  that  is  to  say,  as  far  as  Jacques 
Cartier  had  gone ;  but  it  seems  th^  .  iuj  town  of  Hoche- 
laga  no  longer  existed,  or  was  reduced  ir;  .■siii.oificance. 


'  Cbamplain,  Voyages  (ed.  1633), 
p.  30,  describes  the  house  erected  by 
Chauvin,  in  which  he  left  sixteen 
men.  On  the  plan  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Saguonay  (ed.  1613,  p.  172),  he 
ehowB  the  position  of  the  house, 
which  he  himself  had  seen. 

'  Champlam  (ed.  1032),  p.  37. 

•  This  voyage  of  Champlain,  the 
earliest  of  his  that  we  know,  wan 
made  in  the  Spanish  service,  his 
I'ncle  ranking  high  in  the  Spanish 
Dhvy.    His  original  manuscript,  Href 


Discount  des  chooeu  t>lu8  liemarqua- 
bles  que  Samuel  Champlain  de 
Brouage  a  recogneues  aux  Indes  Oc- 
cidentales,  is  preserved  at  Dieppe, 
and  probably  came  from  Commander 
do  Chaste.  The  original  has  never 
been  published,  but  a  somewhat 
hasty  translation  was  given  by  the 
Hakluyt  Society,  in  1859. 

*  Champlain,  des  Sauvages,  1603, 
pp.  5-02,  Quebec  edition ;  edition 
1032,  p.  40. 

>  Champlain,  des  Sauvages,  p.  37. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


m 


uiasmuch  as  Mr.  de  ChamplaiD,  whose  memoirs  are  verj 
circumstautial,  does  not  say  a  single  word  about  it.'  On 
their  return  to  France,  they  found  the  Commander  de 
Ohaite  dead,'  and  his  commission  given  to  Peter  du 
Guast,  Sieur  de  Monts  of  Saintonge,  Gentleman  in  Ordi- 
nary of  the  Chamber,  and  Governor  of  Pons,  who  had  also 
obtained  the  exclusive  trade  in  furs,  from  the  fortieth  to 
the  fifty-fourth  degree  of  north  latitude ;  the  right  to 
grant  lands  to  the  forty-sixth ;  and  letters  patent  of  vice- 
admiral  and  lieutenant-general  in  aU  that  extent  of  coun- 
try.' 

Mr.  de  Monts  was  a  Calvinist,  and  the  king  had  permit- 
ted him  and  his  the  free  exercise  of  his  religion  in  Amer- 
ica, as  it  was  practised  in  the  kingdom.  On  his  side,  he 
undertook  to  settle  the  country,  and  establish  the  Catholic 
religion  among  the  Indians  there.  He  was,  moreover,  a 
very  honest  man,  whose  views  were  upright,  who  was 
zealous  for  his  country,  and  had  all  the  ability  requisite 
for  success  ia  the  enterprise  on  which  he  had  embarked ; 
but  he  was  unfortunate,  and  almost  always  ill-served. 
His  exclusive  privilege  for  the  fur-trade  raised  up  rivals, 
who  succeeded  in  ruining  him.  He  had  maintained  the 
company  formed  by  his  predecessor,  and  he  even  increased 
it  by  several  merchants  fi'om  the  chief  ports  of  France, 
especially  Kochelle.  So  much  force  combined  enabled 
him  to  make  a  more  considerable  outfit  than  any  of  those 
whom  he  succeeded,  and  it  was  made  partly  at  Dieppe 
and  partly  at  Havre  de  Grace. 


1603. 


'  dhamplain,  des  Sauvages,  p.  37. 
In  this  voyage  he  seems  to  have 
beard  of  Niagara,  of  the  Hurons 
or  good  Iroquois,  and  both  lieard 
of  and  seen  Lake  Superior  copper : 
p.  40.  He  reached  Havre  de  Grate 
September  20, 1603,  with  several  In- 
dians, including  an  Iroquois  woman 
rescued  from  the  stake,  p.  68. 

"  Eymard  de  Chaste,  Knight  of 
Malta,    Commnndor    of   Lormetau, 


Qrandmadter  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Lazarus,  and  Governor  of  Dieppe. 
Faillon,  Histoire  de  la  Colonic  Fran- 
(;aise  en  Canada,  i.  p.  75.  He  died 
May  13,  1603.  Cape  Chat,  on  the 
St.  Lawrence  River,  derived  its  name 
irom  Iiim. 

»  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  1613), 
p.  4.  See  Commission  m  Lescarbot 
(ed.  1618),  p.  417.  Mem.  des  Comm , 
ii.  441. 


Mr.  de 
Moots  in 
Acadia. 


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248 


HISTORY  OF  NEW   FRANCE. 


1603. 


It  consisted  of  four  ships;  one  intended  for  the  fur- 
trade  at  Tadoussac.  Pontgiavc'  received  orders  to  take 
the  second  at  Camceaux,  thence  to  run  the  whole  channel 
formed  by  Cajje  Breton  and  Isle  St.  Jean,  to  drive  off  all 
who  should  attempt  to  trade  with  the  Indians  to  the  pre- 
judice of  the  i'ights  of  Mr.  de  Monts,  who  took  the  re- 
maining two  ships  to  Acadia.  He  was  accompanied  by 
several  volunteers,  by  the  Sieur  de  Champlain,  and  by 
another  gentleman,  John  de  Biencourt,  Siem'  de  Poutrin- 
court,  whom  he  subsequently  made  his  lieutenant.'  But 
before  entering  on  the  naiTative  of  what  occurred  during 
this  expedition,  I  think  it  well  to  give  a  clear  idea  of  Aca- 
dia, of  which  I  shall  have  fi'equent  occasion  to  speak  in 
the  course  of  this  work,  and  which  has  often  been  con- 
founded with  the  neighboring  provinces. 
DMori^tioii  Acadia,  according  to  all  the  authors  who  speak  accu- 
rately, is  a  peninsula  of  triangular  form,  which  bounds 
America  on  the  southeast.  John  de  Laet  says  so  expressly 
in  his  DesTiption  of  the  West  Indies.'  All  the  historians 
and  geographers  use  the  same  language,  if  we  except  Mes- 
sieurs de  Champlain  and  Denys,  who  give  Acadia  much 
more  contracted  limits.  The  former,  in  the  eigLlii  chapter 
of  his  voyages,  gives  the  name  of  Acadia  only  to  the  south 
side  of  the  peninsula ;'  and  Mr.  Denys,  who  resided  long  in 
that  country,  who  has  given  us  a  very  exact  description  of 
it,  who  owed  as  his  own  and  governed  the  eastern  coasts 
ill  the  name  of  the  ki':'^,  is  of  the  same  opinion. 

The  latter  divides  nil  the  eastern  and  southern  part  of 
Canada  into  four  provinces,  which,  in  his  time,  had  as 


of  this 
country. 


>  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  1632), 
pp.  43, 44  ;  Leecarbot,  book  iii.  cli.  2. 

*  Cadia,  pars  Continentis,  triangu- 
laris est  formee  .  .  .  qui  duo 
sinus  exigui  erne  spacio  disiuncti, 
banc  piovinciam  peno  insulam  effl- 
ciunt.  De  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  p.  CO. 
Cliamplain,  in  hie  first  worli,  alwajs 
writes,  Arcadie.      Tlie  word  is  de- 


rived from  the  Algonquin  Aquod- 
diaoko,  a  pollock.  Hist.  Mag.,  i.  84. 
'  Lo  dit  Sieur  du  Pont  avec  la 
commission  du  dit  Sieur  de  Monta 
va  4  Cansscau  et  le  long  de  la  coste 
(vers  I'isle)  du  Cap  Breton.  Le  Sieur 
(le  Moats  prend  sa  rontte  plus  a  val, 
vers  les  costes  de  I'Acadie.  Cham- 
plain (ed.  1032),  p.  A3.—C/iarlevoi!i. 


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HISTORY  OP  NEW  FHANCB. 


249 


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many  proprietors,  lieutouautH-gouoiul  for  the  king.     Tbo     i6oj. 
first,  from  Pentagoiit  to  the  St.  Jolm's  River,  he  calls  the  "— "v— ' 
province  of  the  Etechemina,  and  it  was  previously  styled  Dencrlption 
Norimbogiia ;  the  second,  from  St.  John's  River  to  Cape 
Sable,  he  styles  French  Bay ;  the  third,  according  to  him, 
is  Acadia,  from  Cape  Sable  to  Camceaux ;  and  this  was  first 
styled  by  the  English,  Nova  Scotia,  on  an  occasion  soon 
to  be  mentioned.    The  fourth,  which  was  his  domain  and 
government,  from  Camceaux  to  Cap  des  Rosiers,  he  calls 
Bay  of  St.  Lawrence  ;  others  have  styled  it  Gaspesie.' 

Would  it  not  seem  that  this  manner  of  thinking  of  our 
two  oldest  authors  on  Acadia  was  kept  in  view,  when  it  is 
declared  in  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  that  the  Most  Christian 
king  ceded  to  the  Queen  of  England  and  her  successors 
forever,  "  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia,  according  to  its  ancient 
limits,  and  also  the  city  of  Port  Royal,  or  Annapolis  Royal, 
with  its  jurisdiction  ?"  for,  as  this  treaty  adds  Port  Royal 
to  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia,  it  would  apparently  follow  that 
it  did  not  include  all  the  peninsula  under  the  proper  name 
of  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia.' 

I  am  aware  that  in  several  treaties  made  between  the 
two  crowns,  we  find  the  name  Nova  Scotia  applied  some- 
times to  the  peninsula,  excluding  the  southern  coast  of 
Canada,  and  sometimes  to  that  coast,  excluding  the  penin- 
sula ;  but  they  can  prove  by  no  memoir  worthy  of  credit 
that  both  ever  bore  it  at  the  same  time.  Moreover,  these 
changes  of  name  are  recent ;  and  the  point  between  the 
English  and  ourselves  is  the  ancient  limits  of  Acadia,  or 
Nova  Scotia. 

So  true  is  it,  that  even  in  England  the  name  of  Nova 
Scotia  is  given  only  to  the  peninsula,  that  William  Alex- 
ander, Earl  of  Sterling,  having  obtained  fi'om  King  James 
I.  all  that  had  been  wrested  from  France  in  that  part  of 
Canada,  during  the  reign  of  that  prince,  divides  that  con- 
cession into  two  provinces,  calling  the  peninsula  Nova 

'  Denys,  i.  60,  136.  Memoires  des  '  Memoires  des  Coramissaires,  i. 
Coimuissaireg,  ii.  503.  Ixvii. 


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HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


1603.  Scotia,  and  giying  the  rest  the  name  of  New  Alexandria, 
^•^"v^"'  This  may  be  seen  in  de  Laet,  who  cites  the  patent  at  the 
DesoriptioD  place  ahready  cited.'  Several  years  after,  Charles  11. 
having  ordered  the  restitution  of  Acadia  to  tha  French, 
according  to  the  treaty  of  Breda,  Sir  Thomas  Temple  pre- 
tended to  a  right  to  retain  Pentagoet,  asserting  that  that 
post  was  not  included  in  Acadia,  but  in  Nova  Scotia.  He 
was  shown,  however,  that  this  assertion  was  unfounded. 

After  this  short  digression,  which  should  not  be  regarded 
as  foreign  to  my  history,  as  it  tends  to  settle  an  important 
geographical  question  directly  bearing  on  the  subject  we 
are  treating,  I  will  say  a  few  words  of  these  southern  prov- 
inces of  New  France,  which  were  then  discovered  by  Mes- 
sieurs de  Monts  and  de  Ohamplain.  There  are,  perhaps, 
none  in  the  world  possessing  finer  harbors,  or  furnishing 
in  greater  abundance  all  the  conveniences  of  Ufe.  The 
climate  is  quite  mild  and  very  healthy,  and  no  ib.  ds  have 
been  found  that  are  not  of  surprising  fertiUty.  Near  I  a 
Haive  a  single  grain  of  wheat  was  seen  which  produced 
one  hundred  and  fifty  ears,  so  long  and  full  that  an  iron 
ring  had  to  be  put  there  to  support  them.  The  Sieur 
Denys  who  reports  this  fact,  actually  vritnessed  by  him- 
self, adds  that  in  the  same  place  he  saw  a  field  of  wheat 
where  the  seeds  that  were  least  prolific  had  eight  stalks, 
all  bearing  ears,  the  least  six  inches  long.'  Finally,  no- 
where are  there  to  be  seen  forests  more  beautiful  or  with 
wood  better  fitted  for  building  and  masts. 

There  are  in  some  places  copper-mines,'  and  in  others 
of  coal.  It  is  even  asserted  that  at  three-quarters  of  a 
league  off  Isle  Menane,  which  serves  as  a  guide  to  vessels 
to  enter  St.  John's  River,  there  is  a  rock,  almost  always 
covered  by  the  sea,  which  is  of  lapis-lazuli.  It  is  added 
that  Commander  de  BaziUi  broke  off  a  piece,  which  he 
sent  to  France,  and  Sieur  Denys,  who  had  seen  it,  says 


'  De  Laet,  Novub  Orbis,  p.  til. 
•  Denye,  i.  p.  80. 


*  Champliun,  dee  Sausages,  Laver- 
didre'B  edition,  p.  40. 


V  ^ 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


251 


that  it  was  valued  at  ten  crowns  an  ounce.'  The  fish  most  1603. 
commonly  caught  on  the  coast  are  the  cod,  salmon,  mack-  "^  '"^' 
eral,  herring,  sardine,  shad,  trout,  gatte,  gaparot,  barbel, 
sturgeon,  goberge — all  fish  that  can  be  salted  and  ex- 
ported. Seals,  walruses,  and  whales  are  found  in  great 
numbers.  We  are  told  that  in  the  single  port  of  Moucou- 
adi  enough  whales  can  be  caught  in  a  single  season  to 
load  several  ships.  The  rivers,  too,  are  full  of  fresh-water 
fish,  and  the  banks  teem  with  countless  game. 

Acadia  is  admirably  situated  for  commerce ;  it  is  the 
head  of  North  America,  and  the  nearest,  surest,  and  most 
convenient  depot  for  the  West  India  trade.  It  is  two 
himdred  and  fifty  leagues  in  circuit,  between  the  43d  and 
46th  degrees  N.  latitude.  The  currents  are  not  trouble- 
some, and  are  navigated  under  any  wind.  The  details 
and  proof  of  all  this  may  be  seen  in  the  excellent  work  of 
Mr.  Denys,  who  wrote  nothing  but  what  he  had  seen  him- 
self, and  who  was  capable  of  judging.  Besides,  all  who 
have  ever  made  any  stay  in  the  country  use  the  same 
language.    I  return  to  Mr.  de  Monts. 

He  sailed  from  Havre  de  Grace  March  7, 1<304,'  and  on     1604. 
the  6th  of  May  he  entered  a  harbor  in  Acadia,  where  he  „ 

*'  Settlement 

found  a  ship  trading  in  defiance  of  the  prohibition.  He  ofSt.Croiz. 
confiscated  it  under  his  exclusive  privilege,  and  the  har- 
bor was  called  Fort  Bossignol,*  from  the  name  of  the  cap- 
tain who  owned  the  confiscated  ship — as  though  Mr.  de 
Monts  had  wished  to  make  compensation  to  the  man 
for  the  loss  he  infiicted  on  him,  by  immortalizing  his 
name.  On  leaving  this  port  he  entered  another,  which 
was  called  Fort  au  Mouton,  because  a  sheep  got  drowned 
there.    Here  he  landed  all  his  people,*  and  spent  more 


I 


'  Denys,  i.  p.  34. 

'  Lescarbot  (ed.  1609),  p.  474 ; 
1611,  p.  447;  1618,  p.  482;  though 
Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  1613,  p.  6), 
Bays,  April  7. 

•  Champlain.Yoyages  (ed.  1613),  p. 
9.    He  gives  the  date  as  the  12th. 


Lesoarhot  (ed.  1618),  p.  484 ;  1611, 
p.  447.  The  port  is  now  called  Liv- 
erjKwl ;  but  the  Great  Liverpool  lake 
is  BtiU  named  Lake  Rossignol.  Hal- 
iborton's  Nova  Scotia,  i.  p.  12. 

*  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  1613), 
p.  10. 


I 


»/i 


252 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


1603. 


luconven- 
ienoes  of 
this  port. 


than  a  month«  while  Mr.  de  Champlain  visited  all  the 
coast  in  a  sloop,  in  search  of  a  spot  adapted  for  the  pro- 
posed settlement.' 

He  might  well  have  spared  himself  the  trouble  of  going 
so  far,  and  even  of  coming  to  that  point ;  for  he  was  be- 
tween Camceaux  and  la  Halve,  which  are,  beyond  dispute, 
the  two  best  harbors  in  Acadia,  and  most  advantageously 
situated  for  commerce ;  but  he  did  not  condescend  even 
to  stop  there.  He  entered  neither  Port  Royal  nor  Bay 
Fran$oise  nor  St.  John's  River,  and  pushed  twenty  leagues 
further,  to  a  small  island,*  where  Mr.  de  Monts,  arriving 
soon  after,  resolved  to  settle.  He  named  it  Isle  de  Sainte 
Croix,  and  as  it  is  only  half  a  league  in  circuit,  it  was 
soon  all  cleared.  They  made  quite  comfortable  quarters, 
and  sowed  wheat,  which  bore  remarkably  well.' 

They  were  not  slow,  however,  in  being  convinced  that 
they  had  made  a  poor  selection.  When  winter  came  thoy 
found  themselves  without  fresh  water  and  wood ;  and  as 
they  were  soon  reduced  to  salt  provisions,  and  many,  to 
avoid  the  trouble  of  going  to  the  mainland  for  water, 
drank  melted  snow,  the  scurvy  broke  out  in  the  new 
colony,  and  caused  great  ravages/  Accordingly,  as  soon 
as  navigation  was  open,  Mr.  de  Monts  had  nothing  more 
urgent  than  to  seek  a  more  advantageous  spot.  Steering 
southward,  he  ranged  the  coast,  which  runs  east  and  west, 
for  the  distance  of  eighty  leagues  from  the  St.  John's 


■  During  these  excursions  a  priest, 
named  Nicholas  Aubry,  was  lost  for 
sixteen  Aaya. 

'  Champlain  (Voyages,  pp.  11-17) 
says  that  he  vrent  only  six  leagues 
beyond  Long  Island  to  Port  Ste.  Mar- 
garet, and  then  returned  to  Port  du 
Mouton.  He  and  de  Monts  set  out 
May  16 ;  and  they  did  enter  Port 
Royal,  which  owes  its  name  to  Cham- 
plain (p.  2\),  as  the  Bay  of  Pundy 
did  its  name  of  Baye  Fran(;ai8e  to  de 
Monts  (p.  13).    They  then  visited  lea 


Mines,  crossed  the  bay,  and  sailed 
west  to  Ouygoudy  River,  which  hav- 
ing reached  on  the  day  of  that  saint, 
they  called  St.  John's ;  and  then 
pushed  on  to  an  island  in  Passamma- 
quoddyEay,  to  which  de  Monts  gave 
the  name  of  Ste.  Croix  (pp.  20-38)— 
Neutral  Island,  in  Scoodic  River. 

•  Champlain  (Voyages,  1013,  Que- 
bec ed  ,  p.  28),  gives  a  view  and  plan 
of  the  fort. 

*  lb.,  pp,  39-58  ;  Lescarbot  (ed. 
1618),  p.  460. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


268 


1604. 


Biver  to  the  Einibequi ;'  then  north  and  south  to  a  point 
which  Champlain,  who,  during  the  winter,  had  been  en-  ^— "-y— ^ 
gaged  in  visiting  the  country,  had  styled  Mflebare,* 
because  his  bark  had  been  well-nigh  wrecked  there.  He 
had  even  taken  possession,  in  the  king's  name,  of  that 
and  of  Cap  Blanc  or  Cape  Cod,  which  is  beyond  it ;  but 
this  did  '^ot  prevent  the  English  settling  there  soon  after. 
About  half-way  between  Sainte  Croix  and  the  Quinibeki    Mr.  de 

•'  .  MonU 

Biver,  is  the  Pentagoet  Biver,*  which  traverses  midway  transporu 
what  was  called  Norimbegua,*  of  which  writers  so  long    to  Port 
made  a  fair  and  powerful  province,  and  where  there  have       °^'' " 
really  neTer  been  any  thing  but  a  few  scantily  peopled  vil- 
lages of  the  Etehemins.'    Mr.  de  Monts — ^unable,  finally, 
after  this  long  range,  to  fix  upon  any  place  for  a  settle- 
ment— returned  to  Sainte  Croix,'  where  Pontgrai>e  soon 
joined  him,  having  arrived  from  France.    They  found  the 
settlement  in  a  most  wretched  state  ;  and  Mr.  de  Monts, 
convinced  that  he  must  place  it  elsewhere,  resolved  to. 
return  to  Acadia.    He  accordingly  embarked  with  Pout- 
grave,  and  on  his  way  ran  into  Port  Boyal.    He  found  it 
so  much  to  his  liking,  that  he  resolved  on  the  spot  to 
transplant  his  colony  thither,  and  committed  the  affair  to 
Pontgrav6,  appointing  him  his  lieutenant.^ 

Port  Boyal,  which  owes  its  name  to  Mr.  de  Monts,'  has  Description 
only  one  fault,  which  is  the  difficulty  of  entering  and  get-  °    '"  ^' 


'  Kennebec.  Champlain,  Voyagea 
(ed.  1618),  p.  08. 

■  Champlain.  Voyages  (ed.  1613) 
pp.  64-88 ;  Leacarbot  (ed.  1618),  p. 
485.  The  present  Cape  Mallebare  ia 
Champlain'a  Cap  Baturier.  Malle- 
bare harbor  ia  Nauaet  harbor.  Tho- 
reau'a  Cape  Cod,  p.  210.  Laverdidre'a 
Champlain  (1013),  p.  65. 

*  The  Indiana  called  Mount  Desert, 
Pemetig  (Biard),  and  the  country, 
Pemetigouek,  corrupted  into  Pen- 
tagouct,  the  English  Penobscot. 

'  As  to  the  identity  of  Norimbegua 
and  Penobscot,  see  Lescarbot,  Biord, 


de  Laet,  etc.,  cited  in  Laverdidre's 
Champlain  (1613),  p.  81,  n. 

*  Etechemina. 

•Champkin,  Voy.  (ed.  1618),  p.  95. 

^  Champlain  saya  that  aeeing  no 
port  auitable,  and  having  little  time, 
de  Monta  tranaported  tho  colony  to 
Port  Boyal — now  Annapolis  (pp.  95, 
97) ;  LaverdiSre'a  edition,  p.  76.  He 
first  named  d'Orville  as  hia  lieuten- 
ant, but  he  was  too  sick. 

'  Champlain  says  he  named  it 
(Voyages,  p.  21);  although  Leacar- 
bot (ed.  1618,  p.  405)  aaserta  the  con- 
trary. 


I 


I 


S64 


HIBTOBI   OF  NEW  FRAMCB. 


1604. 


Vrenoh  Bay 
and  St. 
John's 
River, 


Singalar 
tree. 


ting  out ;  to  which  may  be  added,  the  inconvenience  aris" 
ing  from  fogs,  which  are  frequent.  Only  one  ship  can 
enter  at  a  time,  and  that  must  enter  stem  foremost  and 
with  infinite  precautions  :  this  is  required  by  the  strength 
of  the  oun-ents  and  the  tide.  With  this  exception,  nature 
has  omitted  nothing,  we  may  say,  to  make  it  one  of  the 
finest  ports  in  the  world.  It  is  two  leagues  long,  and 
a  good  league  in  width.  A  small  island,  called  Goat 
Island,  is  almost  in  the  middle  of  the  basin,  and  vessels 
can  approach  it  closely.  There  is  nowhere  less  than  four 
or  five  fathoms  water,  and  at  the  entrance  there  are 
eighteen.  The  bottom  everywhere  is  very  good,  and  ships 
are  sheltered  there  from  all  winds.  At  the  extremity  of 
the  port  is  a  point,  running  out  between  two  rivers,  where 
there  is  water  enough  for  sloops.  The  climate  is  tem- 
perate, the  winter  less  severe  than  in  many  other  parts  of 
the  coast,  game  abundant,  the  country  charming—  vast 
meadows  surroimded  by  great  forests — and  everywhere 
fertile  land. 

From  Fort  Boyal  to  St.  John's  Biver  the  distance  is  two 
leagues ;  and  this  is  the  width  of  Bay  Fran$oise  (Bay  of 
Fundy),  which  has  the  same  depth.  Copper-mines  ore 
said  to  exist  in  most  of  the  bays  on  that  coast.  The 
entrance  to  St.  John's  Biver  is  more  difficult  than  that 
into  Port  Boyal.  You  have  to  steer  to  the  right,  without 
running  in  too  clo^a  to  land.  Within  cannon-range  is  a 
rapid,  over  which  sloops  and  even  barks  can  pass  at  high 
tide.  At  the  descent  of  this  rapid  there  is  a  whirlpool 
about  four  hundred  paces  in  circuit,  in  which  there  was 
formerly  to  be  seen,  standing  erect,  a  tree,  which  seemed 
to  float,  and  never  left  its  place,  notwithstanding  the  force 
of  the  current. 

It  appeared  to  be  about  the  size  of  a  barrel,  but  it  was 
sometimes  all  covered  by  the  sea  for  several  days.  It  also 
seemed  to  turn,  as  if  on  a  pivot,  for  it  was  not  always 
seen  on  the  same  side.  The  Indians  seemed  to  pay  it  a 
kind  of  worship,  attaching  to  it  the  skins  of  beaver  and 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANC5B. 


266 


i 


\  . 


other  animals ;  and  when  they  set  out  and  did  not  per-     1604. 
ceive  it,  they  augured  ill  of  their  voyage.    It  is  pretended  ^-^y""~' 
that  Mr.  de  la  Tour  (of  whom  we  shall  speak  hereafter) 
one  day  fastened  a  cable  to  it,  and  that  ten  oarsmen, 
whom  he  had  put  in  a  longboat,  could  not  succeed  in 
drawing  it  out,  although  the  current  was  in  their  favor.' 

To  return  to  the  St.  John's  Biver.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  1 60$. 
in  New  France.  Its  banks  are  covered  with  very  fine 
oaks,  and  several  other  kinds  of  trees  of  a  very  good  qual-  . 
ity  of  wood,  and  cipecially  with  nut-trees,  the  fruit  of 
which  is  triangular  in  form  and  very  hard  to  open ;  but 
when  it  is  presented  tc  the  fire,  it  opens  of  itself.*  Tines 
are  also  found  there,  bearing  a  very  large  grape,  with  a 
hard,  thick  skin  and  a  delicious  taste. 

The  Sieur  de  Pontgrav6  did  not  altogether  coincide  PortRoval 
with  Mr.  de  Monts  in  his  opinion  of  Port  Royal,  the  aci-  MHe'^S 
vantages  foimd  there  attracting  him  less  than  the  disad- 
vantages already  mentioned  repelled  him.  Mr.  de  Fou- 
trincourt,  however,  did  not  share  this  opinion ;  and  as  he 
had,  when  entering  into  partnership  with  Mr.  de  Monts, 
formed  the  design  of  settUng  with  his  family  in  America, 
he  asked  for  this  port  and  obtained  it  without  difSculty. 
This  concession,  made  in  virtue  of  the  power  conferred 
on  Mr.  de  Monts  by  the  king,^  was  also  confirmed  by  let- 
ters patent  of  his  majesty.  But  that  gentleman,  more 
engaged  in  trade  with  the  Indians  than  the  cultivation  of 
the  earth,  did  not  display  as  much  ardor  in  giving  a  solid 
basis  to  his  new  colony  as  he  had  shown  to  acquire  so 
fair  a  domain ;  and  we  shall  soon  see  him  expelled  by  the 
EngUsh,  against  whom  he  might  easily  have  defended 
himself,  had  he  been  able  to  oppose  them  with  even  thirty 
men  well  intrenched.* 

Fall  approaching,  Mr.  de  Monts  passed  over  to  France/ 


triDOOurU 


'  Lafitean,MoBura  et  Coutumes  des 
gaavages,  i.,  p.  149. 
'  Beech-Duts. 
•  Champ.,  Voyag.  (ed,  1618),  p.  39. 


*  lb.  (ed.  1632),  p.  98. 

'  CLamplain  remained  in  the  new 
settlement.  Voyages  (ed.  1613),  p. 
78. 


it 


956 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


live 
privilege. 


160$.  and  on  reaching  the  court,  fonnd  matters  much  changed 
'-^''^'  in  his  regard.  The  fishermen  of  all  the  ports  in  the 
Mr.  de  kingdom  had  represented  to  the  king,  that  under  pretext 
his  exciu-'  of  preventing  their  trade  with  the  Indians,  they  were  de- 
prived of  things  most  essential  to  their  fisheries,  and  that 
they  would  have  to  abandon  them  if  these  vexations  were 
not  arrested.'  Their  remonstrance  was  heard ;  the  coun- 
cil saw  the  loss  that  commerce  would  sustain  by  an  inter- 
ruption of  the  fishery,  which  then  constituted  one  of  the 
most  considerable  branches,  and  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
Mr.  de  Monts,  which  was  to  have  lasted  two  years  longer, 
was  revoked.  Yet  he  did  not  lose  courage;  he  made  a 
new  arrangement  with  Mr.  de  Poutrincourt,  who  had  fol- 
lowed him  to  France,  and  had  him  equip  a  vessel  at 
Bochelle,  which  sailed  May  13, 1606." 
The  voyage  was  so  long  as  to  give  the  settlers  at  Fort 
ti'ie  ooionV  Boyal  reason  to  believe  that  they  were  abandoned.  Font- 
rednoed.  grave  did  indeed  all  he  could  to  encourage  them ;  but  at 
last,  as  they  were  absolutely  destitute  of  every  thing,  he 
was  compelled  to  embark  with  the  whole  party,  and  hoist 
sail  once  more  for  France.  He  left  in  the  fort  only  two 
men,  who  volimteered  to  remain  alone  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Indians  to  guard  the  property  that  they  had  been  unable 
to  remove.'  He  was  almost  in  sight  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy, 
when  he  learned  from  a  bark  of  the  arrival  of  Mr.  de  Fou- 
trincourt  at  Camceaux.  On  hearing  this,  he  sailed  back 
and  re-entered  Port  Boyal,  which  Poutrincourt  had  al- 
ready reached,*  without  their  having  met ;  because,  to  go 
from  Port  Boyal  to  Camceaux,  you  pass  between  the  conti- 
nent and  Long  Island;  whereas,  to  proceed  from  Camceaux 


Extremity 
to  which 


>  Leecarbot  (ed.  1618),  p.  584 ; 
Cbamplain,  Voyages  (ed.  1638),  p. 
44. 

»  Leficarlxjt  (ed.  1018),  p.  516. 

•  They  left  Port  Royal,  July  17,  in 
confonnity  with  the  directions  of  de 
Monts,  says  Champlain,  who  was 
there.    Voyages  (ed.  1613),  pp.  106, 


107  ;   LaverdiSre's  edition,  p.  86  ; 
Lescarbot  (ed.  1618),  p.  516. 

*  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  1613), 
p.  110.  His  date,  July  25,  is  wrong. 
See  Laverdiere,  p.  88.  Lescarbot 
(p.  584)  states  that  he  arrived  at 
Port  Royal  in  this  vessel,  the  Jonas, 
July  27. 


HISTOr.T  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


267 


able  mcoor. 


to  Fort  Royal,  you  take  the  open  sea  on  account  of  the     1 605. 
currents.  ^— v-» 

Mr.  de  Poutrincourt  having  brought  back  abundance  to  lu  mmod- 
his  settlement,  thought  only  of  fortifying,  and  Fontgrav6 
devoted  himself  entirely  to  it.  He  was  a  wise,  able,  inde- 
fatigable, and  highly  experienced  man.  He  had  the  secret 
of  keeping  his  people  always  busy,  which  contributed  to 
preserve  them  from  the  diseases  which  had  desolated  the 
settlement  of  Ste.  Croix.  Mr.  de  Champlain  also  wished  to 
continue  his  exploration,  but  as  the  season  was  far  ad- 
vanced, he  could  only  go  ten  or  twelve  leagues  beyond 
Cape  Malebare ;  and  his  voyage  was  almost  useless.'  The 
cultivation  of  the  earth  was  more  successful ;  the  wheat 
and  other  grains  sowed  gave  returns  beyond  all  expecta- 
tion. The  other  labors  were  cheerfully  performed,  as  pro- 
visions were  not  lacking;  and  the  fertility  of  the  soil  seemed 
to  guaranty  that  the  source  of  this  abundance  would 
never  be  exhausted.  The  diseases,  of  which  they  had 
suppressed  the  cause,  diminished ;  and,  lastly,  the  Indians 
began  to  grow  more  tractable. 

Mark  Lescarbot,  an  advocate  from  Paris,  a  man  of 
ability,  strongly  attached  to  Mr.  de  Poutrincourt,  had  had 
a  curiosity,  quite  unusual  in  men  of  his  profession,  to  see 
the  New  World ;  and  he  was  highly  instrumental  in  putting 
and  retainfug  things  in  this  happy  state.  He  encouraged 
some  ;  he  touched  the  honor  of  others ;  he  won  the  good- 
will of  all,  and  spared  himself  in  naught.  He  daily  in- 
vented something  new  for  the  public  good.  And  there  was 
never  a  stronger  proof  of  what  advantage  a  new  settlement 
might  derive  fi'om  a  mind  cultivated  by  study,  and  induced 
by  patriotism  to  use  its  knowledge  and  reflections.'  We 
are  indebted  to  this  advocate  for  the  best  memoirs  we 


i 


I  Poutrincourt  went  with  him. 
Voyages,  p.  113.  They  went  beyond 
Mailebare  to  Cape  Batturier  and  Port 
Fortune  (Chatham),  the  last  thirteen 
leagues  beyond  Mallebare.  Voyages, 
Vol.  I.— 17 


pp.  113-39 ;  Laverdilre's  edition, 
pp.  02-107.  Champlain  reached  Port 
Royal  again,  Nov.  14.    lb.,  p.  115. 

» Lescarbot,  Histoire  de  la  Nou- 
velle  France,  passim. 


■i.> 


n' 


258 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANC3B. 


Mr.  d6 
Monta'  er- 
rnra  and 
rai»  for- 
tune*. 


1605.  possess  of  what  passed  before  his  eyes,  and  for  a  history 
of  French  Florida.  We  there  behold  an  exaot  and  judi- 
cious writer,  a  man  with  views  of  his  own,  and  who  would 
have  been  as  capable  of  founding  a  colony  as  of  writing 
its  history.' 

While  Poi-t  Boyal  gave  such  flattering  hopes,  the  ene- 
mies of  Mr.  de  Mouts  completed  his  ruin  in  France.  They 
succeeded,  at  last,  in  having  his  commission  revoked  ;'  and 
he  was  unable  to  obtain  any  recompense  for  the  advances 
which  he  had  made,  except  a  sum  of  six  thousand  Uvres, 
to  be  raised  from  the  vessels  which  might  embark  in  the 
fur-trade.  Much  stress  was  laid  on  this  grant,  which  at 
bottom  amounted  to  nothmg,  as  the  cost  of  levying  this 

1606.  impost  would  have  exceeded  the  return.'  The  thing  was, 
moreover — from  the  very  nature  of  the  tradv ,  the  spots 
where  it  was  carried  on,  and  the  slight  recourse  he  could 
expect  to  have  against  his  debtors — entirely  impracticable. 
On  the  whole,  this  gentleman  had  committed  nearly  the 
same  faults  as  his  predeceasors.  At  an  outlay  of  four  or 
five  thousand  livres,  he  might  (observes  Mr.  de  Oham- 
plain)  have  selected  an  advantageous  post,  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  the  colony  ;  and  nothing  subsequent  would 
have  prevented  its  maintenance  and  increase,  without  any 
necessity  of  a  recourse  to  an  unpopular  privilege,  which 
he  could  not  long  expect  to  enjoy.' 

Camceaux  seems  to  be  the  spot  where  he  should  have 
stopped.  It  is  the  head  of  Acadia,  and  the  best  place  to 
receive  suppUes  from  France  at  all  seasons.    Camceaux  is 


>  LeKubot,  Hiatoire  de  1*  Noa- 
velle  France,  p-  54S.  Mr.  Fidllon 
(Hifltolre  de  Ia  Colonie  FranQaiae,  p. 
104,  n.)  not  inaptly  obaervea  tlut 
Charlevoix  did  not  know  the  later 
editions  of  Lescarbot,  or  he  would 
oertainlf  have  been  lees  eologistic. 
For  the  affidra  of  the  winter,  see 
also  Champlain,  Voyages  (1618,  ed. 
Laverdidre),  p.  115,  eta 


*  He  then  ordered  Poutrincourt 
back  to  France  ;  and  that  gentleman, 
with  Champlain,  left  Port  Royal, 
Aug.  11,  1607.  Champlain,  Vo7> 
ages,  p.  154 ;  Laverdi&re's  ed.,  p. 
126 ;  Lescarbot,  lib.  4,  ch.  18. 

•  Champlain  (ed.  1632),  p.  46. 

<  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  there 
are  no  papers  of  de  Monts  to  throw 
light  on  his  labora 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


a  harbor,  wbioL  is  about  throe  leagues  in  length,  com-      >6o6. 
posed  of  several  islands,  the  largest  of  which,  lying  in  the  "  -^'  *-' 
midst  of  the  rest,  is  about  four  leagues  in  circumference.  Deaaription 
The  soil  is  fertile,  well  watered,  and  well  wooded.     It  °     of'"* 
forms  two  bays,  where  the  anchorage  is  very  sure  ;  and  on    """'*"*"• 
the  mainland,  which  is  very  near,  is  a  river  called  Salmon 
Biver,  where  a  prodigious  quantity  of  that  fish  is  taken.' 
Mr.  de  Monts  omitted  another  necessary  precaution — to 
have  seed  to  sow  on  arriving,  and  Uve-stook,  which  would 
easily  have  multiplied  in  an  extremely  rich  country.    In 
this  way,  the  success  of  his  enter|)rise  would  not  have 
depended  on  ships  from  France,  delays  in  which  he  should 
have  foreseen  ;  and  he  might  have  established  n  sedentary 
fishery,  which  alone  would  have  sufficed  to  enrich  him. 
But  avidity  to  grasp  all,  often  leads  men  to  lose  all. 

The  next  year  he  had  sufficient  influencd  to  get  his 
privilege  restored  for  a  year,  but  on  condition  that  he 
made  a  settlement  on  the  St  Lawrence  Biver.'  His  com- 
pany had  not  abandoned  him  in  his  misfortune  ;  but  it 
seems  to  have  had  only  the  fur-trade  in  view,  and  this 
object  caused  it  to  change  its  plans  and  abandon  Acadia. 
The  associates  equipped  two  ships  at  Honfleur,  and  con- 
fided them  to  Messrs.  de  Champlain  and  Pontgrave,'  who 
were  directed  to  proceed  to  Tadoussac  to  trade,  while  Mr. 
de  Monts  solicited  an  extension  of  his  privilege.  He  did 
not  succeed ;  but  this  did  not  prevent  their  sending  ves- 
sels up  the  St.  Lawrence  Biver  in  the  spring  of  1608. 

His  company  increased  in  proportion  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  fur-trade.  Many  persons,  at  St.  Malo  espe- 
cially, had  entered  it,  and  increased  its  capital ;  but  he 


Mr.de 
Monta  re- 
cover* ■ 

little, 

1607. 


■  Champlain  (Vojages,  ed.  1633, 
p.  00)  speaks  less  favorably. 

'  See  this  cnnimission,  dated  Jan. 
7, 1608,  In  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed. 
1613),  p.  163 ;  Laverdiere'B  ed..  p. 
186  ;  Lescarbot,  Histoire  de  la  Nou- 
veUe  France  (ed.  1618),  p.  613.  It 
does  not  mention  the  St.  Lawrence 


as  the  place  of  settlement :  "  Nous 
avona  resolu  de  faire  continuer  I'ha- 
bitation  qui  avoit  estu  cy  devant 
commencee  audit  pays." 

*  Dupont  Orave  sailed,  April  5, 
1008,  and  Champlain,  the  13th.  Voy- 
ages (ed.  1013),  p.  104;  Laverdidre's 
ed.,  p.  138. 


\n 


«fe 


260 


HISTORY  OF  NEW   FRANCB. 


1608.  Boon  perceived  that  his  name  injured  his  assooiateH,  and 
^^">""^  he  retired.  lu  fact,  as  Boon  an  the  company  no  longer 
roundation  had  him  as  its  head,  it  recovered  the  monopoly ;  but 
these  merchants  had  no  other  object  than  filling  their 
strong  boxes.  They  did  nothing  for  the  colony  in  Acadia, 
which  was  dying  out,  and  made  no  settlement  elsewhere. 
However,  this  same  year  (1608)  Mr.  de  Champlain,  who 
oared  little  for  the  trade,  and  whose  thoughts  were  those 
of  a  patriot,  after  maturely  examining  where  the  settle* 
ment  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  directed  by  the  court,  might 
best  be  established,  at  last  fixed  on  Quebec'  He  arrived 
there  on  the  3d  of  July,*  put  up  some  temporary  build- 
ings for  himself  and  his  company,  and  began  to  clear  the 
ground,  which  proved  fertile. 
Tbe  king  In  the  preceding  year,  the  king,  on  confirming  the  grant 
niu  Mnt  to  of  Port  Boyal  to  Mr.  de  Poutrinconrt  by  Mr.  de  Monts, 
notified  that  gentleman  that  it  was  time  to  labor  for  the 
conversion  of  the  Inc'iaus,  and  that  it  was  his  wish  that 
Jesuits  should  be  taken  over  there.  His  majesty  at  the 
same  time  directed  his  confessor,  Father  Cotton,  to  select 
missionaries  for  Acadia ;  and  that  religious  informed  his 
superiors  of  the  king's  wishes.  Many  of  the  order  volun- 
teered, but  only  two  were  accepted — Father  Peter  Biard, 
then  a  professor  of  theology  at  Lyons,  and  Father  £ue- 
mond  Masse,  socius  of  Father  Cotton.  They  were  soon 
ready  to  embark ;  but  they  were  not  long  in  discovering 
that  they  were  not  desired  in  America.' 


■  For  the  sitiution  of  Qaebec,  and 
the  etjvaologj,  see  the  Cbnmuloglcal 
Tables,  p.  61. — Charlev.  Champlain 
makea  no  reflections,  but  gives  his 
journal  to  Quebec,  as  though  it  had 
been  decided  on  to  settle  there. 
Charlevoix  is  undoubtedly  correct 
as  to  tbe  etymology,  Quebec,  Quele- 
bec,  Ouabec,  Qulb»!C— signifying,  in 
the  di&i^rent  Algonquin  dialects, 
"  narrowing  in."  Compare  Gameau, 
HiBtoire  du  Canada  (3d  ed.),  i.  p.  63 ; 


Faillon,  Histoir«  de  la  Colonic,  i.  p. 
80;  and  especially  Ferland,  Cours 
d'Histoire,  i.  p.  00,  where  the  error 
of  Hawkins'  Picture  of  Quebec  (p. 
118)  is  explained;  and  Laverdi^re, 
Voyage  de  Champlain  (1618),  p.  148. 

"  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  1618), 
p.  176  ;  Laverdiftre's  ed.,  p.  148. 

>  Champlain,  Voyages  (1632),  p.  99 ; 
Biard,  Kelation  de  la  Nouv.  France, 
ch.  xi.,  p.  25  (ed.  Queb.)  Champlain 
generally,  and  Biard,  with  the  other 


HIBTORY  or  NEW  FHANCB. 


Mr.  do  Poutrincourt  was  a  very  worthy  man,  sincerely 
attached  to  the  Catholic  religion  ;  but  the  calumniea  of 
the  so-callod  Reformoro  had  pioduced  an  imprcHsion  on 
his  mind,  and  he  was  fully  determined  not  to  take  them  to 
Port  Royal.  He  did  not,  however,  show  any  thing  of  this 
to  the  king,  who,  having  given  his  orders,  had  no  doubt 
but  that  they  were  executed  with  all  speed.  The  Jesuits 
thought  so ;  and  Father  Biard,  at  the  commencement  of 
the  year,  proceeded  to  Bordeaux,  where  he  was  assured 
the  embarkation  would  take  place.  He  was  much  sur- 
prised to  see  no  preparation  there  ;  and  he  waited  in 
vain  for  a  whole  year.  The  king,  informed  of  this,  re- 
proached Mr.  de  Poutrincourt  sharply  ;  and  the  latter 
pledged  his  word  to  the  king  that  he  would  no  longer 
defer  obeying  his  orders.  He  actually  prepared  to  go ; 
but  as  he  said  nothing  of  embarking  the  missionaries, 
Father  Cotton  paid  him  a  visit,  to  bring  him  to  do  so  in 
a  friendly  way.  Poutrincourt  begged  him  to  be  good 
enough  to  postpone  it  till  the  following  year,  as  Port 
Hoyal  was  by  no  means  in  a  condition  to  receive  the 
Fathers.' 

80  frivolous  a  reason  was  regarded  by  Father  Cotton  as 
a  refusal,  but  he  did  not  deem  it  expedient  to  press  the 
matter  or  inform  the  king.  Mr.  de  Poutrincourt  accord- 
ingly sailed  for  Acadia ;  and,  with  a  view  of  showing  the 
court  that  the  ministry  of  the  Jesuits  was  not  necessary 
in  the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  he  had  scarcely  arrived, 
before  he  sent  the  king  a  list  of  twonty-five  Indians  bap- 
tized in  haste.  The  ship  which  brought  him  to  America 
took  back  Mr.  de  Biencourt,  his  son,  who  was  to  remain 
only  long  enough  to  take  in  a  load  of  provisions  and  mer- 
chandise ;  for  the  attraction  of  the  fur-trade  had  almost 


1608. 


1     ' 


Jesuit  relationB,  write  Mebb^,   not  '  Biard,  Relation  de  la  Nouvelle 

Masse,  as  Mr.  Faillon  observes  ;  and  France    (ed.    Quebec),    pp.   25,   26 ; 

du  Creux  seems  to  adopt  the  same  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  1632),  p. 

form.  99. 


i 


262  HISTOKT  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

1610.     eutirely  arrested  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  scarcity 
was  already  felt.' 

Father  Cotton  flattered  himself  that  Bieucourt  would 
keep  his  father's  word,  and  not  sail  without  the  mission- 
aries ;  but  Henry  IV.  was  no  longer  aliA'e,  and  Biencourt, 
it  seems,  believed  himself  freed  from  all  obligation  by  the 
death  of  that  prince.  Father  Cotton  complained  of  it ;  the 
Marchioness  de  Guercheville,  who  had  declared  herself  the 
protectress  of  the  American  missions,  supported  him  and 
assumed  a  higher  tone.  This  had  its  effect ;  Mr.  de  Bien- 
court offered  to  take  the  two  Jesuits,  and  oven  to  pay  their 
expenses ;  but  this  last  offer  was  not  accepted.  The  queen- 
mother  gave  these  religious  five  himdred  crowns ;  Madame 
de  Yemouil  furnished  the  chapel ;  Madame  de  Sourdis,  the 
altar  linen.  Madame  de  Guercheville  attended  to  all  the 
rest  with  a  zeal  that  Father  Cotton  had  no  little  trouble  in 
moderating.  The  two  Fathers  proceeded  to  Dieppe,  where, 
as  they  were  informed,  only  their  presence  was  awaited  to 
set  sail ;  but  on  their  arrival  at  that  port,  two  Huguenots,* 
partners  of  Mr.  de  Biencourt,  refused  to  give  them  passage. 
They  informed  the  court,  who  at  once  ordered  Mr.  de  Si- 
gogne,  governor  of  Dieppe,  to  inform  the  merchants  of  the 
will  of  the  queen-regent.  They  ridiculed  it,  and  the  two 
Jesuits,  seeing  that  Mr.  de  Sigogne  did  not  enforce  obe- 
dience, retired  to  their  college  at  Eu.' 


( 


I 


» 


¥^ 


(..^,. 


•  Biard,  Relation,  p.  26  ;  Leocar- 
bot,  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France 
(ed.  1618),  p.  040.  He  gives  the  list 
of  those  baptised  by  Mr.  Jeasd  Floche 
at  p.  052.  It  was  also  printed  apart. 
La  CJonversion  des  S-iuvages  de  la 
Noavelle  France,  1010.  This  whole 
sJEuT — the  hypocritical  letter  to  the 
Pope,  the  wholesale  baptism  of  men 
who  had  not  the  remotest  idea  of 
Christianity,  and  who,  as  Lescarbot 
admits,  were  open  polygamists — is 
enough  to  show  that  Lescarbot,  the 
prime  mover  and  secretary  in  the 


whole,  was  utterly  unscrupulous. 
Determined  to  find  the  Jesuits  wrong, 
he  afterwards  censured  them  for  at- 
tempting to  bring  these  Christians  of 
his  fashion  to  monogamy.  See  Bi- 
ard, Lettre  au  P.  Balthazar,  in  Cara- 
yon.  Doc.  Inedits,  xii.,  pp.  24,  25. 

•  They  wer^  du  Jardin  and  du 
Quesne,  the  latter  ancestor  of  the 
funous  admiral,  and  of  the  Qovernor 
of  Canada,  whose  name  was  once 
borne  by  Pittsburgh.  Ferland,  Coura 
d'Histoire,  i.  80. 

>  Champlain  red.  1032),  p.  100. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


» 


Madame  de  Guercheville,  provoked  at  this  conduct,  sel  1610. 
about  a  subscription  at  court,  with  the  proceeds  of  which  ^-^v— ' 
the  two  Calvinists  were  reimbursed  and  got  rid  of.'  She 
then  wished  to  treat  with  Mr.  de  Biencourt,  but  not  find- 
ing his  title  clear,  she  bought  of  Mr.  de  Monts  all  the 
rights  that  he  had  obtained  of  the  late  king,  and  which  she 
counted  on  reviving.  Her  next  step  was  to  form  a  part- 
nership with  Mr.  de  Biencourt,  by  which  the  subsistence 
of  the  missionaries  was  to  be  drawn  from  the  proceeds  of 
the  fishery  and  fur-trade.'  The  author  of  the  Life  of  , 
Father  Cotton'  asserts,  that  that  holy  man  allowed  Mad- 
ame de  Guercheville  to  follow  too  far  the  impulse  of  her 
generosity  on  this  occasion ;  but  Mr.  de  Champlain,  who 
had  more  to  do  in  Acadian  affairs  at  that  time  than  any 
other  man,  is  not  of  this  opinion ;  for  after  justifying  that 
lady  in  regard  to  her  trading,  which  he  explains  at  length, 
he  adds :  "  This  is  that  contract  of  association  which  has 
sowed  so  many  rumors,  complaints,  and  outcries  against 
the  Jesuit  fathers,  who,  in  this  and  every  thing  else,  acted 
equitably  according  to  God  and  reason,  to  the  shame  and 
confusion  of  those  who  envied  and  slandered  them."* 

At  last  the  two  missionaries  sailed  with  Mr.  de  Bien- TwoJesuito 
court,'  and  landed  at  Port  Royal  on  the  12th  of  June,  1611.'  po""Boy^. 
The  precocious  conversions  ceased  on  their  arrival,  and 
the;-  soon  experienced  all  the  effects  of  the  displeasure  of 
those  who  had  opposed  their  coming.  They  pretended 
not  to  perceive  it,  and  seemed  occupied  only  with  their 


1611. 


>  Biard,  Letter  to  Father  AquSr 
viva,  2l8t  January,  1611. 

'  See  the  document,  dated  January 
20, 1011,  in  Lescarbot  (ed.  1609),  p. 
605.  This  lady,  Antoinette  de  Pons, 
Marchioness  de  Guercheville,  wife  of 
the  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucault-Lian- 
court,  governor  of  Paris,  also  obtained 
a  royal  patent  for  all  North  AmerioA 
from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Florida, 
excepting  only  Port  Royal.  Champ- 
lain  (ed.  1032),  p.  103. 


>  Father  Peter  Joseph  d'Orleans. 
La  Vie  du  P.  Pierre  Coton  de  la 
Compagnie  de  J^sus,  Paris,  1688, 4o. 

*  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  1632), 
p.  101. 

» January  20.    Lescarbot,  p.  008. 

•  Champlain  ;  Biard,  Relation,  p. 
29.  This  date  is,  however,  wrong. 
They  arrived,  May  22.  Biard,  Let- 
ter to  Father  Balthazar,  June  10, 
1011 ;  letter  to  Father  Aquaviva, 
same  day. 


} 


n 


;-i 


II 


:»fiaa^w(W'"''""" 


I 


264 


mSTOBY  OF  NEW  FBANCR 


1611.  duties ;  they  even  won  over,  by  their  courtesy,  all  in  whom 
^-^y^  prejudice  had  not  warped  all  uprightness  of  heart  Mr. 
de  Foutriucourt  always  acted  honorably  with  them.  This 
gentleman  had  reUgious  feelings,  aud  it  is  impossible  to 
read  without  edification  the  letter'  which  he  wrote  in 
1608  to  Pope  Paul  V.,  to  testify  the  sincere  zeal  which 
induced  him  to  exile  himself  with  his  family  to  a  foreign 
land,  in  order  to  bring  the  heathen  to  the  knowledge  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  soliciting  his  apostohcal  benediction. 
But  when  prejudice  is  supported  by  interested  views  it 
makes  an  impression  rarely  efiTaced,  and  leads  to  steps  the 
consequence  of  which  are  not  foreseen.  The  Calvinists 
in  France  incessantly  declared  that  the  Jesuits  went  to 
the  New  World  only  to  rule  and  enrich  themselves  ;  and 
they  had  even  persuaded  OathoUcs,  who  dreaded  to  find 
terrible  rivals  in  these  religious.  Hence  there  never  was 
between  Mr.  de  Poutrincourt  and  the  missionaries  that 
good  understanding  which  would  have  contributed  in- 
finitely to  advance  the  work  of  God,  and  been  of  no  small 
use  in  solidly  establishing  Port  Boyal.* 
Th«  Indiana  Father  Biard  has  given  us  a  relation  of  his  voyage,'  and 
of  Ac»<ii».  ^£  y^YiBA  occurred  before  his  eyes  in  Acadia,  to  which,  I 
think,  more  credit  can  be  given  than  to  the  memoirs  used 
by  John  de  Laet'  to  decry  the  Jesuits  ;  even  were  not  these 
memoirs  refuted  by  Mr.  Champlain,  who  was  present,  at 
all.  This  missionary,  speaking  of  the  natives  of  the  coun- 
try— then  called  Souriquois,  and  since  by  us  termed  Mtc- 
mdks — portrays  them  to  us  as  men  well  formed,  and  of  an 
advantageous  stature.'     Lescarbot  says  the  same ;  yet 


>  It  maj  be  found  in  Lescarbot  (ed. 
1609,  p.  656  ;  ed.  1618,  p.  605),  who 
drew  it  up. 

*  Mr.  FaUlon,  in  bis  late  historjr, 
regards  both  Lescarbot  and  Poutrin- 
court  as  really  belonging  to  the 
Calvinist  party,  if  not  open  Calvin- 
ists. 

•  Lyons,  1612, 1618. 


i 


*  De  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  p.  69.  De 
Laet  followed  the  lost  edition  of  Le- 
scarbot, which  Charlevoix  did  not 
kuow,  and  actually  cites  Lescarbot 
as  his  authority. 

'  Biard  (p.  8)  says  they  are  of  small- 
er stature  than  the  French.  Cliarle- 
Toix  seems  to  have  drawn  little  in  hia 
account  of  the  Indians  from  Biard. 


I't 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


266 


i* 


they  are,  on  the  whole,  smaller  than  most  of  the  other  In-     1611. 
dians  of  Canada,  but  there  are  none  braver  in  all  the  ^■"^v      ' 
continent.    They  hare  long  made  a  fierce  war  on  the  Es-  The  Indians 
quimaux ;  and  in  order  to  attack  them  in  their  caverns  and 
on  their  rocks,  they  do  not  hesitate  to  paddle  their  bark 
canoes  thirty  or  forty  miles  by  sea.    In  the  sequel  of  this 
history  we  shall  see  them,  with  their  neighbors,  under  the 
name  of  Abenaqui  nations,  join  the  French  in  Newfound- 
land and  New  England,  and  acquire  an  ascendancy  over 
the  English  of  America  which  they  still  preserve,  although 
reduced  to  a  small  number  of  warriors. 

They  have  not  only  never  been  cannibals,*  but  have 
been  always  remarked  for  their  mildness  and  docility. 
Hence  they  had  little  difficulty  in  accustoming  themselves 
to  our  manners,  a  point  they  have  in  common  with  the 
other  tribes  of  this  southern  coast  of  Canada.  Polygamy 
was  permitted  among  the  Acadians ;  but  the  privilege  was 
rarely  exercised  by  any  but  the  sagamos,  as  they  termed 
their  chiefs.'  The  dignity  of  sagamo  was  elective,  and  the 
choice  generaUy  fell  on  one  at  the  head  of  a  more  numer- 
ous family.  All  the  youth  were  under  the  orders  of  this 
chief ;  and  all,  before  being  married,  could  work  only  for 
him.  The  married,  even,  having  many  children,  paid  him 
a  kind  of  tribute  which  was  rigorously  exacted.  Each 
town  had  its  sagamo,  independent  of  the  others  ;  but  all 
kept  up  a  kind  of  correspondence  with  each  other,  which 
closely  united  the  whole  nation  in  one.'  They  spent  a 
good  part  of  the  fair  season  in  visiting  and  holding  coun- 
cils, where  general  affairs  were  discussed.  If  any  dif- 
ference arose  between  families,  or  even  individuals,  it  was 
the  duty  of  the  chief  of  the  town  to  effect  a  reconciliation. 


I 


f<i 


'  Biard  in  Carayon,  Documents  In- 
«ditB  (xii.,  p.  84),  implies  that  tliey 
Lad  been. 

*  Biord,  p.  18.  Biard  found  tliat 
CacagouB,  the  Christian  sagamo  of 
Port  St.  Jean,  had  eight  wives  ;  and 


another  Christian  considered  mono- 
gamy good  only  for  the  French.  He 
maizes  polygamy  general.  Lettre  an 
P.  Balthazar,  in  Carayon,  Documents 
Inedits,  xil.,  p.  25. 
» lb.,  p.  11. 


n 


n 


m 


k 


266 


1611. 


ThelndiaDS 
of  Aoadia. 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  PRANCE. 

If  he  could  not  sncceed,  the  o£fended  party  was  entitled  to 
right  himself,  and  the  lex  talionis  was  strictly  observed. 

Little  quarrels  were  settled  on  the  spot.  They  got  each 
other  by  the  head,  gave  a  few  cuffs,  and  generally  sepa- 
rated without  doing  each  other  any  great  harm.  Hus- 
bands treated  their  wives  harshly.  A  Frenchman  one  day 
reproached  one  of  these  Indians  for  beating  his  wife 
severely.  The  Indian  repUed  that  he  was  master  in  his 
own  cabin,  and  that  no  one  had  a  right  to  gainsay  him  if 
he  beat  his  dog.  A  woman  surprised  in  adultery,  risked 
her  life  ;  and  although  less  attention  was  paid  to  the  con- 
duct of  girls,  those  whose  shame  was  exposed  were  dis- 
honored.' The  French  were  not  long  in  the  country 
without  perceiving  that  familiarity  with  their  women  was 
not  liked,  and  the  women,  on  their  side,  evinced  much 
modesty  and  discretion. 

If  we  may  credit  Le  earbot,  from  whom  I  drew  almost 
all  these  details,"  an  infant,  as  soon  as  it  was  born,  and 
before  it  was  allowed  to  take  the  breast,  was  forced  to 
swallow  grease  and  oil.  The  eldest  son  always  bore  the 
father's  name,  with  a  syllable  added  ;  a  different  name  was 
given  to  the  second,  which  also  had  a  syllable  added  for 
the  third,  and  so  on  with  the  rest :  but  these  names  were 
apparently  changed  at  marriage.  Dead  bodies  were  em- 
balmed, or  rather,  after  being  slashed  and  emptied,  were 
dried  to  prevent  corruption.'  Mourning  consisted  in 
painting  themselves  black,  and  in  great  lamentations.* 

As  soon  as  a  father  of  family  died,  he  was  taken  from 
his  cabin,  which  was  set  on  fire  without  removing  any 
thing.  Each  then  presented  the  coi-pse  the  best  he  had, 
and  they  adorned  the  tomb  without  and  within.  Warriors, 
before  taking  the  war-path,  fought  with  their  wives,  and  if 
they  got  the  worst,  had  no  doubt  of  the  success  of  their 
expedition  ;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  their  wives  were  the 


•  Biard,  Relation,  p.  14. 

•  Lescarbot,  1G18,  pp.  696-970. 


'  Biard  differs  (p.  19). 

*  Ibid.,  and  in  Carayon,  xii.,  p.  84. 


t 


i 


i 


'=|-\.. 


^ 


'•\ 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE.  267 

weaker,  they  augured  ill.    A  feast  was  given  at  a  boy's     1611. 
birth,  as  well  as  when  he  cut  his  first  tooth  and  killed  his  ^— ~v**-' 
first  animal  in  the  chase.    If  any  one,  on  entering  a  cabin, 
caressed  the  childi-en,  they  made  him  a  present.    Brothers 
and  sisters  treated  each  other  with  much  civility  and 
modesty. 

These  Indians  had  quite  a  curious  way  of  restoring 
those  who  had  been  nearly  drowned  and  had  swallowed 
much  water.  They  filled  with  tobacco-smoke  a  bladder 
or  large  intestine,  well  tied  at  one  end ;  to  the  other  they 
attached  a  small  reed,  and  inserting  it  into  the  anus,  by 
pressing  the  intestine  or  bladder,  forced  the  smoke  into 
the  body.  They  then  hung  him  by  his  feet  to  a  tree  ;  and 
the  smoke,  which  filled  his  belly,  made  him  discharge  by 
the  mouth  all  the  water  he  had  swallowed. 

The  Acadians  have  at  all  times  lived  on  good  terms  MiBoonduoi 
with  the  French  ;  and  there  is  the  more  reason  to  be  sur-  Frenchmen 
prised,  as  they  got  it  into  their  head  that  our  nation  them.^ 
would  destroy  them.  In  fact,  even  in  Mr.  de  Monts'  time, 
they  diminished  sensibly ;  and  soon  after,  a  great  many 
deserted  places  were  shown,  where  large  towns  were  said 
to  have  existed  before  our  fishermen  frequented  the  coast. 
They  added  that  they  had  been  poisoned  ;  and  this 
reproach  was  not  without  foimdation.  Sublimate  and 
other  similar  drugs  were  more  than  once  found  in  their 
hands,  given  to  them  by  Frenchmen  who  taught  them  how 
to  use  them  to  get  rid  of  their  enemies.  I  do  not  believe 
that  this  happened  often  ;  but  what  was  only  too  ordinary 
is,  that  some  of  the  provisions  brought  in  were  damaged, 
causing  diseases,  the  more  dangerous  as  the  Indians  were 
ignorant  of  their  cause  and  nature  as  well  as  of  their 
proper  treatment.' 


>  Biard,  Relation,  p.  14.  In  his 
letters  he  says  that  this  decreaBe 
bad  begun  previously,  and  cites 
statements  of  Mambertou  as  to  pop- 
ulation in  his  earlier  days.    Biard 


estimates  the  Etchemins  at  one  thou- 
sand ;  Algonquina  and  Montagnais, 
one  thousand  ;  Micmacs,  two  thou- 
sand. Carayon,  Documents  Inedits, 
xu.  p.  83. 


I^s 


SH. 


%: 


268 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1611.  They  had  few  maladies  before  knowing  us,  and  used 
^•""r-'^  only  simple  and  natural  remedies.  They  made  much  of 
Abundance  exercise.  Sweats  and  baths  were  in  great  repute  among 
tiiinffYu  them,  as  among  all  the  other  Indians  of  Canada.  They 
°*  "■  lived,  however,  wretchedly,  their  indolence  reducing  them 
often  to  the  greatest  want,  amid  the  greatest  abundance 
of  all  the  necessaries  of  life.  Each  season  in  that  coun- 
try can  furnish  its  inhabitants,  were  they  as  numerous  as 
in  the  most  densely  peopled  districts  of  Europe,  means  of 
living  with  httle  fatigue ;  and  nothing  is  more  easy  than 
to  lay  up  from  one  season  to  another  enough  to  guard 
against  the  accidents  which  might  occur. 

In  October  and  November  begins  the  hunt  of  the 
beaver  and  elk,  which  lasts  a  part  of  the  winter.  In  De- 
cember, or  to  speak  more  precisely,  during  the  last  two 
moons,  a  fish  called  pmamo  spawns  on  the  ice,  and  they 
take  as  many  as  they  like.  It  is,  I  believe,  a  kind  of 
seal. 

It  is  also  the  time  when  the  turtles  lay.  The  bear,  hare, 
and  otter  are  also  wealth  of  this  season,  as  well  as  game — 
:hat  is  to  say,  partridges,  ducks,  teal,  Canada  goose,'  and 
quantities  of  river  birds,  found  everywhere  in  abundance. 
In  January  they  take  the  seal,  the  flesh  of  which  at  first 
seemed  to  our  sailors  as  good  as  veal,  and  which,  in  fact, 
is  neither  disagreeable  nor  unhealthy. 

From  the  commencement  of  February  till  the  middle 
'  of  March*  is  the  best  time  for  hunting  the  caribou  and 
other  animals  of  which  I  spoke  at  first.  Towards  the 
end  of  March,  the  fish  begin  to  spawn,  and  enter  the 
rivers  in  such  numbers  as  to  be  incredible  to  one  who  has 
not  seen  it.  The  first  that  appears  is  the  smelt,  which  is 
thrde  times  as  large  here  as  in  Europe.  At  the  end  of 
April  comes  the  herring ;  and  at  the  same  time  all  the 
islands  and  banks  of  the  rivers  are  covered  with  wild 
geese,  which  come  to  build  their  nests.    The  eggs  of  these 


■  Outarde  (Bemicla  Canadenris), 


>  Biard  aaya  May. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANOBl. 


birds  alone  would  almost  suffice  to  maintain  the  inhab-     1611. 
itants  at   this  time,  without   greatly  injuring  the  multi- 
plioatiou  of  the  bird.    Then  come  the  salmon  and  stur- 
geon, and  in  all  the  hollows  of  the  rocks  and  other  open 
places  you  see  nothing  but  nests  of  birds  of  all  kinds.' 

I  do  not  mention  the  cod  fishery,  which  is  very  abun- 
dant on  all  the  coasts  of  Acadia,  because  the  Indians  do 
not  know  it;  but  independently  of  all  that  we  have  just 
seen,  had  the  Acadians  chosen  to  devote  themselves  never 
80  little  to  the  cultivation  of  the  earth,  the  raising  of  cattle, 
and  poultry,  they  might  easily  have  dispensed  with  fishing 
and  hunting,  or  followed  them  only  for  amusement.  At 
the  time  of  which  I  am  speaking,  from  the  month  of  May 
tiU  the  end  of  September,  they  were  engaged  only  in  trade 
with  the  French ;  and  each  one  found  it  profitable.  Pro- 
vided they  gave  them  plenty  to  eat,  and  this  could  be  fur- 
nished cheaply,  Indians  not  being  nice  as  to  the  quality  of 
the  food,  the  French  got  from  them  whatever  they  wished : 
the  profit  of  this  trade  was  accordingly  very  great. 

Nevertheless,  wretched  as  the  people  appear,  the  saga- pHJeoftht 
mos  assumed  a  very  haughty  tone  with  our  first  taerchants. 
They  had  to  pay  them  compliments,  and  make  them  pres- 
ents, in  order  to  obtain  permission  to  trade ;  and  in  their 
repUes,  they  imagined  that  they  conferred  high  honor 
on  the  great  sagamo  of  the  French,  to  treat  him  as  an 
equal,  in  spite  of  all  the  attempts  of  the  merchants  to 
give  them  an  exalted  idea  of  the  power  of  their  sov- 
ereign.' 

This  is  what  may  be  said  in  particular  of  the  first  North 
American  Indians  to  whom  we  undertook  to  announce  the 
gospel.  We  are  assured  that  they  were  then  very  long  Uved ; 
nnd  Lescarbot  affirms  that  the  celebrated  Mambertou,  of 
whom  we  are  about  to  speak,  was  a  hundred  years  old 
when  he  saw  him  for  the  first  time  in  1606,  and  that  he 


Indians. 


■  Blard,  Relation  de  la  Noavelle 
France,  pp.  9, 10. 


'  Lescarbot,  Histoire  de  la  Nouv. 
France, 


n 


; 


270 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


b«rtou. 


1611.     was  married  in  the  time  of  Jacques  Cartier.    Yet  all  who 
-^»"^  '  knew  him,  found  him  go  bale  and  vigorous  that  they  should 

not  have  judged  him  a  man  of  sixty.' 
HUtory  of      OuT  two  missionaries  deemed  it  their  first  duty,  on  arriv- 

th6  SAffA- 

more  H«m-  ing  at  Port  Boyal,  to  learn  the  language  of  the  country ;  but 
they  were  quite  astonished  to  find  no  one  among  the  French 
who  could  or  would  aid  them  in  this  study.  Pontgravo 
even,  who  was  more  capable  than  any  other  of  rendering 
this  service,  not  daring  to  have  too  much  intercourse  with 
them  for  fear  of  irritating  Mr.  de  Poutrincourt,  with  whom 
he  was  not  on  good  terms."  Fortunately  for  the  Fathers, 
the  sagamo  Mambertou  had  learned  a  little  French,  and 
eagerly  sought  their  friendship.  This  chief,  who  enjoyed 
a  high  repute  in  his  nation,  had  not  consented  to  receive 
baptism,  as  some  of  his  subjects  did,  without  knowing 
what  Christianity  was  ;  and  the  little  that  had  been 
taught  him  on  the  subject,  before  his  baptism,  inspired 
him  with  a  great  desire  for  thorough  instruction.  Nothing 
could  have  been  more  seasonable  for  the  missionaries. 
They  attached  themselves  to  him,  and  found  him  indeed  a 
man  of  ability.' 

He  was  not,  in  fact,  in  any  way  a  barbarian  except  in  his 
outward  man  and  his  pride.  Lescarbot,  who  was  often 
in  his  company,  makes  a  eulogy  on  him  which  will  doubt- 
less sound  exaggerated  to  those  who  do  not  know  that 
everywhere  are  to  be  foiind  men  thus  happily  bom,  whom 
neither  defect  of  culture  nor  a  savage  education  prevent 
from  rising,  by  their  own  genius,  above  most  of  those  even 
who  have  enjoyed  the  greatest  aid  to  form  the  mind  and 
heart.  He  had  received  in  baptism  the  name  of  Henry, 
the  great  Henry  IV.  being  still  alive.  He  was  a  brave 
and  able  warrior,  after  the  manner  of  the  Indians ;  and 


■  Legcarbot,  pp.  588,  589. 

»  Biard,  Relation  de  la  Nouvelle 
France,  p.  31. 

'  Mambertou  could  not  have  aided 
much,  as  be  died,  Sept.  18, 1611  (Le- 


Bcarbot,  p.  673),  within  three  months 
after  their  arrival  there,  proposing  to 
teach  them.  Biard,  Relation,  pp. 
32, 38 ;  Carayon,  Documents  Inedits, 
xij.  p.  99. 


; 


mSTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


vn 


Lescarbot,  wbo  makes  him  his  hero,  chants  his  military     1611. 
exploits  in  verse.    He  was  of  very  great  stature,  and  had  ^-*~v-"~^ 
a  noble  air.    He  is  said  even  to  have  had  a  beard,  which  Mambertoa 
is  so  rare  among  the  American  tribes,  that  had  he  not 
been  born  before  the  arrival  of  the  French  in  his  country, 
there  would  have  been  no  doubt  but  that  European  blood 
mingled  in  his  veins  with  that  of  America.    He  had  ac- 
quired over  all  his  nation  an  authority  that  no  one  before 
him  had  been  able  to  exercise.' 

What  rendered  the  intercourse  of  this  Indian  the  more 
agreeable  and  usefu  to  the  missionaries  is,  that  he  had 
been  an  autmoin — such  being  the  name  the  Acadians  give 
their  jugglers.  Father  Biart  one  day  asked  him  whether 
the  demon  whom  he  had,  he  said,  frequently  invoked, 
ever  became  visible  to  him?  He  rephed  that  this  had 
sometimes  happened  ;  "  but,"  added  he,  "  what  induced 
me  to  renounce  that  profession  is,  that  that  spirit  of  evil 
never  bade  me  do  any  thing  that  was  not  bad.'"  The  help 
and  credit  of  such  a  neophyte  gave  the  two  apostolic 
laborers  every  ground  for  hoping  soon  to  see  themselves 
in  a  position  to  produce  fruit  among  these  tribes.  But 
they  did  not  long  enjoy  this  advantage.  Mambertou  fell 
sick  with  a  dysentery,  which  in  a  short  time  brought  him 
to  the  point  of  death. 

He  had  himself  at  once  carried  to  the  quarter  of  the  His  last  m> 
French,  in  the  hope  of  receiving  more  relief  there  than  in 
his  own  cabin.  Father  Enemond  Masse  took  him  into  his 
own  house ;'  and  Father  Biart,  who  was  absent,  returned 
at  the  first  information  of  his  dangerous  state.  Nothing 
was  spared  to  preserve  a  man,  deemed  equally  necessary 
to  the  progress  of  the  colony  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Christian  religion ;  but  all  remedies  were  useless.  He  soon 
perceived  it,  and  himself  asked  for  the  last  sacraments  of 

'  LeBcarbot,  Muses  ie  la  Nouvelle  verdiere's   ed.),     speaks   of    Mem' 

France ;    Biard,  Letti  3  in  Carayon,  bertou. 

xii.  pp.  55,  101 ;   CLaitnlain,  Voy-  »  Biard,  Relation,  p.  80. 

ages  (1613,  pp.  118,  llt»   126.    La-  •  Carayon,  Doc.  Ined.,  xU.  04. 


ness. 


1^  NtWTON.  ,1 


272 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


i6i  I. 


EmbAiram- 
mant  of  the  , 
mlMion-    ised 
•ries  u  to 
him. 


HU  edifV- 
ing  dMtn. 


the  Gborch,  which  he  received  with  lively  sentiments  of 
piety.  He  then  begged  Mr.  de  Biencourt,  commandant  at 
Port  Boyal  in  his  father's  absence,  to  have  his  body  trans- 
ported, as  soon  as  he  expired,  to  his  own  town,  in  order 
to  be  buried  with  his  kindred. 

Bienconrt,  who  saw  nothing  objectionable  in  this,  prom- 
it  ;  but  Father  Biart,  to  whom  the  commandant 
spoke,  strongly  opposed  the  idea,  and  represented  to  both 
the  scandal  which  such  a  course  would  give.  Biencourt 
replied,  that  he  had  given  his  word,  and  that  it  did  not 
become  him  to  retract  it ;  that,  after  all,  he  had  only  to 
bless  the  place  where  the  sagamo  was  to  be  buried.  The 
missionary  maintained  that  this  could  not  be  done,  with- 
out first  exhuming  all  the  bodies  of  the  heathen  interred 
in  the  same  place,  which  the  Indians  would  never  permit, 
and  which  was  directly  against  the  sick  man's  intention. 
He  argued  in  vain.  Mr.  de  Biencourt  persisted;  and 
Mambertou,  seeing  himself  upheld  by  the  commandant,  re- 
newed his  request,  and  would  hear  no  more  on  the  subject. 

Father  Biart  then  retired,  and  declared  that  neither  he 
nor  his  colleague  would  take  charge  of  the  obsequies. 
Some  moments  after  he  returned,  to  continue  to  render  the 
dying  chief  the  care  his  condition  required,  and  to  en- 
deavor to  recall  him  from  his  obstinacy.  Qod  blessed  his 
firmness;  and  his  charity  touched  Mambertou,  who  the 
next  day  asked  him  to  pardon  his  indocihty,  assuring  him 
that  he  would  not,  for  all  the  world,  be  deprived  of  the  suf- 
frages of  the  Church,  and  told  him  that  he  left  it  to  him 
to  give  him  burial  where  he  thought  proper.  He  soon 
after  expired  in  sentiments  of  faith  and  confidence  in  God, 
which  would  have  done  honor  to  an  old  Christian ;  the 
obsequies  paid  to  him  were  such  as  would  have  been  ren- 
dered to  the  commandant  himself,  and  there  was  no  one 
but  sincerely  regretted  him.' 


■  Biard,  Relation  de  la  Noavelle    yon.xii.  p.  00  ;  Leecarbot,  Hiatoirede 
France,  pp.  32,  33  ;  Ijetters  in  Cara-    la  Nouvelle  France  (1618),  p.  673. 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


978 


Some  dajs  after,  Mr.  de  Bienuourtj  and  Father  Biart     1611, 
let  out  to  visit  all  the  cooiit  to  the  Kinibequi,  which  they  ^— v-*^ 
BBoended  for  some  distance ;  they  were  well  received  by     F«th«r 
the  Oanibas,  an  Abenaqni  nation,  which  has  given  name  the  Ab«ii«- 
to  this  river ;'  they  obtained  of  them  provisions,  which      **"  *" 
began  to  fail  at  Port  Boyal,  and  in  return,  the  missionary, 
with  the  help  of  an  Indian  who  knew  French  tolerably, 
announced  Jesus  Ohrist  to  them.      He  found  a  docile 
people,  who  heard  him  with  respect,  and  did  not  seem  to 
him  far  removed  from  the  kingdom  of  God.'    Some  Eng- 
lishmen had,  but  a  short  time  previously,  attempted  to 
settle  on  this  river;  but  they  had  acted  so  ill  towards 
these  Indians  that  the  latter  had  forced  them  to  with- 
draw.'   The  Canibas  found  the  French  more  humane,  and 
treated  with  them  so  cordially  that  all  seemed  to  promise 
that  they  would  one  day  have  in  that  nation  a  barrier 
against  enterprising  neighbors,  who  recognize  no  limits  to 
their  colonies  but  such  as  they  cannot  pass  by  force. 

Father  Enemond  Masse  on  his  side  had  also  set  out  to  strMse 
reconnoitre  the  country  and  the  dispositions  of  the  pdople  indiM?" 
in  favor  of  Christianity.  His  guide  was  a  son  of  Mam- 
bertou,  a  Christian,  by  name  Louis ;  but  he  was  not  able 
to  go  far,  having  fallen  dangerously  ill.  This  mischance 
threw  the  Indian  into  great  distress,  which  the  missionary 
at  first  supposed  sprung  entirely  from  attachment  to  him ; 
but  he  soon  saw  that  it  had  another  cause.  One  day, 
when  he  was  very  low,  Louis  came  and  begged  him  to 
write  to  Mr.  de  Biencourt  that  he  was  sick  and  dying; 


>  )i 


<  It  was  formerly  called  Canibequi. 
— Oharlevoix. 

*  Biard,  Relation  de  la  Nouvelle 
France,  pp.  35,  SO. 

•  Biard,  Relation  de  la  Nouvelle 
France,  p.  86.  He  glTSB  the  date  as 
1008-9.  Evidently  Popham's  colony, 
begun  in  1607,  abandoned  in  1G08. 
Biard,  in  his  letter  to  the  Provincial, 
January  81, 1013,  would  seem  to  in- 

VoL.  I.— 18 


dicate  that  the  Indians  believed  they 
had  killed  Popham  by  magic.  Car 
rayon,  Documents  In^dits,  xii.,  p.  70. 
He  puts  the  repulse  of  the  English 
by  the  Indians  in  1009,  when  eleven 
English  were  killed.  Weymouth 
had  been  here  in  1605.  See  Rosier, 
Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  series  3,  vol. 
viii. ;  Maine  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  vol.  v. ; 
Laverdiere'sChamplain  (1618),  p.  74. 


Hi 


HISTORY  OF  NEW   FRANCE. 


i6n.     without  that,  he  udded,  thoy  will  think  that  I  killed  you. 

'"^'  ^  I  will  tiike  care  not  to  do  it,  said  the  Hii-k  lunn  ;  you  ivro 
perhapH  one  to  kill  me  in  fact,  and  une  uiy  letter  to  conceal 
your  crime.  The  Indian  understood  whot  that  meant,  was 
ashamed  of  hiH  folly,  and  bogged  the  Father  to  implore 
God  to  restore  hiiu,  that  no  suspicion  might  rest  on 
him.  I  cite  this  example  as  very  characteristic  of  the  In- 
dians :  on  many  occasions,  one  would  be  tempted  to  be- 
lieve them  endowed  with  only  half  reason,  while  in  num- 
berless others  they  are  more  of  men  than  ourselves.' 

Whkt  r«        Meanwhile  time  passed  and  the  colony  lost  rather  than 

Urdi  the  .       ,         mi  .  ■ 

proffreit  of  gamed.  The  cultivation  of  the  earth  was  no  longer 
'  thought  of,  which  made  the  French  constantly  dependent 
on  the  Indians  for  subsistence ;  and  this  alone  was  enough 
to  check  the  progress  of  the  gospel,  by  the  contempt 
which  this  sad  state  drew  on  us  from  the  Indians.  In 
fact  the  missionaries  could  do  little  more  than  baptize 
the  dying  children  when  notified  in  time.  The  greatest 
evil,  however,  was  the  want  of  concert  between  them  and 
those  in  command  at  Port  Royal.  It  was  impossible  for 
the  Indians  not  to  perceive  it,  and  the  experience  of  all 
times  shows  t^mt  nothing  is  more  injurious  to  the  progress 
of  Christianity. 

Project  of  a  Mr.  de  Poutrincourt  had  remained  in  France,  and  had 
ment.  become  at  variance  with  Madame  de  Guercheville,'  who 
had  entered  into  partnership  with  him  only  to  bring  him 
to  the  interest  of  the  missionaries.  As  she  saw  that  she 
had  not  succeeded,  she  thought  seriously  of  removing 
them  to  some  point  where  they  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  him,  and  where  they  could  labor,  unimpeded,  in  the 
discharge  of  their  ministry.  Mr.  de  Champlaiu  had  made 
every  effort,  but  in  vain,  to  induce  her  to  join  Mr.  de  Mouts, 
whose  uprightness  he  guarantied ;  but  for  the  simple  rea- 
son that  Mr.  de  Monts  was  a  Calvinist  she  would  not 


>  Blard,  Relation  de  la  Noavella 
France,  p.  41 ;  Leacarbot,  Hiatolre 
de  la  Nouvelle  France  (1618),  p.  673. 


*  Poutrincourt  waa  impriaoned. 
Letter  in  Leacarbot,  Hlatolre  de  la 
Nouvelle  France,  678. 


HIBTOBY  Cr  NEW  FKANOE 


275 


liflien  to  it,  and  bad,  in  the  neqnel,  every  reason  to  repent,      i6is. 
for  it  is  certain  tliat  had  she  gi.eu  him  the  throe  thousand     "" » '*-' 
six  hundred  livros  which  he  asked  to  establish  a  colony 
on  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  sho  would  have  avoided  the 
misfortunes  which  we  shall  soon  see.' 

She  then  formed  another  project,  which  she  led  the  Th«  mU- 
queen-mother  to  favor,  so  as  even  to  wish  to  contribute    mov*  to 

^  Ptntacolt. 


to  the  expenses,  which  were  ordered  by  the  marchioness 
with  more  generosity  than  order  or  judgment.  She 
fitted  out  a  vessel  at  Houfleur,  and  ordered  the  Sieur  de  la 
Saussaye,  who  was  to  command  it  in  her  name  in  America, 
to  take  on  board  every  thing  necessary  to  begin  a  new  col- 
ony. This  vessel  sailed  March  12th,  1613,  and  on  the  6th 
of  May  anchored  in  Port  de  la  Haive,  where  Mr.  de  la 
Saussaye  set  up  the  arms  of  Madame  de  Guercheville.*  It 
was  natural  to  make  the  projected  colony  at  this  place. 
La  Haive  is  one  of  the  best  and  finest  ports  in  the  world, 
and,  as  already  remarked,  the  soil  there  is  excellent.  Yet 
they  did  not  stop  there  nor  elsewhere  in  Acadia. 

From  la  Haive,  Saussaye  proceeded  to  Fort  Boyal, 
where  he  found  only  five  persons,  including  the  two 
Jesuits,  and  an  apothecary,  who  was  in  command.  Mr.  de 
Biencourt  and  most  of  the  French  had  gone  far  inlsmd  to 
seek  food.  He  took  the  two  Jesuits  on  board,  and  ran 
along  the  coast  to  the  Pentagoet  Biver,  which  he  entered, 
and  resohed  to  settle  there.'  This  river,  which  in  older 
narratives  is  called  the  Biver  of  Norimbegua,  is  forty-five 
leagues  from  the  St.  John's  :  the  river  of  the  Etechemins* 
is  between  them,  but  nearer  to  the  latter.  Formerly  all 
the  country  from  Port  Boyal  to  Einibequi  was  peopled 


1613. 


>  Champlain,  Vojages  (ed.  1682), 
p.  113. 

3  Ch&mplain,  VoyBges  (ed.  1682), 
p.  104 ;  Biard,  Relation  de  la  Nouv, 
France,  p.  44.  Both  give  May  16, 
not  6.  Lescarbot,  Hist,  de  la  Nouv. 
France  (ed.  1618),  p.  680. 

*  It  la  now  known  only  nnder  the 


name  given  to  it  by  the  Indians,  and 
which  is  that  of  Peskadamloukkantl. 
— Charlevoix.  They  did  not  enter 
the  Penobscot.  It  was  their  inten- 
tion to  settle  at  Kadesqult,  probably 
Bangor.  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed. 
p.  108. 
*  Ste.  Croix. 


276 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1613. 


D«soriptlon 
of  Fenta- 

go«t. 


Observa- 
tion on 
masts. 


by  these  Indians,  whom  we  now  know  under  the  name  of 
MoH&Ates,  and  who  are  reduced  to  insignificance.' 

The  mouth  of  the  Pentagoet  River  (44°  20'  N.)  is  quite 
wide,  forms  a  delta,  and  can  admit  vessels  of  three  hundred 
tons.  The  environs  are  very  agreeable,  and  the  soil 
highly  productive."  Besides  the  trees  which  we  have  in 
France,  as  the  oak,  beech,  ash,  maple — here  of  very  fine 
quality — you  may  see  pines  sixty  feet  high,  the  grain  of 
which  is  not  very  coarse,  any  more  than  that  of  four 
kinds  of  fir,  of  which  I  speak  elsewhere.  On  which  the 
Sieur  Denys  remarks,  that  the  further  south  you  go,  the 
better  adapted  the  trees  are  for  masts,  and  that  those  of 
New  England  equal  any  produced  by  Norway,  He  pre- 
fers the  latter,  nevertheless,  and  in  general  the  timber  of 
cold  countries  to  that  of  the  more  temperate,  like  this 
part  of  Acadia,  which  extends  fi'om  la  Halve  to  the  St. 
Lawrence  River.' 

He  then  seeks  the  physical  cause  of  this  diflference  ;  and 
after  laying  down  as  a  principle,  that  the  closer  the  grain 
of  the  tree  the  better  it  is  fitted  for  masts,  he  pretends 
that  in  warm  countries,  where  the  firs  grow  on  elevated 
spots  and  dry  soil,  the  heat  of  the  sim  di-ies  up  the  super- 
fluous humor  of  these  trees,  and  prevents  the  gi'ain  from 
becoming  coarse  by  holding  it  closer  and  giving  it  a  more 
internal  union.  In  the  north,  he  adds,  the  cold  produces 
about  the  same  effect :  it  closes  up  the  wood,  so  that  the 
sap  doeb  not  give  it  enoi:gh  nourishment  to  make  the 
grain  increase ;  but  in  temperate  countries,  nothing  pre- 
vents the  swelling  of  the  giain,  so  that  the  wood  is  weaker 
and  breaks  more  easily.' 


'  Champlain  says  the  Kennebec 
Indians  were  Etechemins  (ed.  1633, 
p.  6C).  Their  language  differed  from 
the  Micmac.  Biard,  p.  07.  The  name 
Abenaki  eeenis  to  have  applied  to 
aU  between  the  Sokokis  and  the  St. 
John.  The  language  of  these  tribes, 
the  Abenakis  or  Kennebec  Indians, 


the  Indians  on  the  Penobscot  and 
Passamaquoddy,  being  almost  the 
same.  The  dictionary  of  Father 
Rale  preserves  the  fullest  vocabulary 
for  its  study. 

'  Biard  in  Carayon,  xii.,  p.  72. 

s  Denys. 

'lb. 


.  I  'vm  iiM 


!»-■ 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


277 


1613. 


Bears  in  numbers  are  also  found  at  Fentagoet  as  well 
as  in  Acadia,  wbicli  live  on  acoms,  and  have  a  flesh  as 
white  and  delicate  as  veal ;  great  numbers  of  moose, 
some  beaver,  a  few  otter,  hares,  partridges,  turtles,  Can- 
ada geese,  and  other  like  game  in  plenty.  Opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  river  are  several  islands,  around  which  quan- 
tities of  mackerel  are  caught,  especially  off  Mount  Desert 
Island,  which  you  pass  at  your  right  on  entering.  The 
English  carry  on  an  extensive  trade  in  this  fish  with  the 
West  Indies.  The  herring  is  rare,  but  the  gasparot,  a 
smaller  and  inferior  species,  is  very  abundant.  During 
winter  many  codfish  are  taken.  Between  Pentagoet  and 
Kinibequi  there  were  formerly  Indians  called  Armouchi- 
quois,  of  whom  Champlain  and  Lescarbot  speak  fre- 
quently. They  were  treacherous  thieves :  the  French 
never  could  improve  them,  and  they  retired  towards  New 
England.' 

Such  was  the  spot'  where  Mr.  de  la  Saussaye  planted  Situation  of 

■^  •/      r  Madame  do 

Madame  de  Guercheville's  colony.    He  landed  on  the  Querohe- 

vilie*8  col- 

northem  shore,  and  hastily  threw  up  a  slight  intrench-  ony. 
ment,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Saint  Sauveur.  Hia 
whole  party,  amounting  to  twenty-five  persons,  was  soon 
lodged ;  because  the  crew  of  his  ship,  which  numbered 
thirty-five  men,  joined  the  new  settlers,  and  all  labored 
with  much  good-will  and  concert.  The  houses  completed, 
they  began  to  cultivate  the  gi'ound ;'  and  while  they  were 
engaged  in  this,*  Father  Biart,  accompanied  by  a  gentle- 
man, la  Motte  le  ViUn,  who  was  la  Saussaye's  Ueutenant, 


f^ 


% 


'  ChHinplain,  in  describing  the 
coast,  makes  the  Almouchiquois 
country  begin  at  the  Kennebec  and 
estend  beyond  Cape  Cod  (Voyages, 
1C32,  pp.  07-93).  Biard  in  Carayon 
(Documents  Inedita,  xii.,  p.  83)  says 
from  the  Kennebec  to  40'  N. 

'  The  spot  was  on  the  eastern  side 
of  Mount  Desert  Island,  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  Soames's  Sound.  The 
wle  of  the  French  colony  is  now  oc- 


cupied by  Mr.  Fernald.  Parkman's 
Pioneers,  p.  377. 

'  Biard  says  there  was  a  want  of 
concert,  because  Saussaye  began  to 
cultivate  instead  of  working  at  houses 
and  a  fort  (Relation,  p.  46). 

*  The  incident  here  described  oc- 
curred before  they  began  the  settle- 
ment. Father  Biard  had  gone  to 
examine  whether  the  spot  was  suit- 
able for  a  colony  (Relation,  p.  C4). 


i 


278 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1613.     made  an  excursion  into  the  country  to  ascertain  the  dia- 
^■^"v— '  position  of  the  Indians  of  that  district.    In  this  excursion 
Bztnva-   a  very  singular  thing  befell  him. 
ofdieMtle^     As  he  was  passing  near  a  village,  he  heard  frightful 
"  ***■     howls.    He  judged  that  they  were  mourning  for  the  dead ; 
but  an  Indian,  whom  he  chanced  to  meet  on  the  way,  told 
him  that  a  child  was  dying,  and  that  if  he  quickened  his 
pace,  he  would  still  be  in  time  to  baptize  it.    The  mission- 
ary immediately  started  to  run ;  and  on  entering  the  vil- 
lage, perceived  all  the  inhabitants  ranged  in  a  line  on  both 
sidee,  and  in  the  middle  the  father  holding  the  little  pa- 
tient in  his  arms.    At  every  sigh  of  the  dying  child  he 
uttered  cries,  more  suited  to  strike  terror  than  excite  com- 
passion.   All  the  Indians  replied  in  the  same  tone,  and 
the  forests  aroimd  echoed  with  their  howls. 

The  missionary,  touched  at  this  spectacle,  approaches 
the  child's  father,  and  asks  whether  he  will  allow  it  to  be 
baptized.  Tte  poor  man  answered  only  by  putting  the 
child  in  his  hands.  The  missionary  gave  it  to  Mr.  de  la 
Motte  to  hold,  sent  for  water,  and  baptized  it.  During 
the  ceremony  perfect  silence  reigned.  These  savages 
seemed  to  expect  some  extraordinary  result.  The  servant 
of  God  perceived  it ;  and  filled  with  a  truly  apostolic  con- 
fidence, he  aloud  conjured  the  Almighty  to  vouchsafe  to 
draw  from  the  bosom  of  his  mercy  an  instance  of  his 
A  dving  power,  in  favor  of  this  blind  but  docile  people. 
by''the  vfr-  At  the  close  of  his  prayer,  he  took  the  child  and  put  it 
*""tum!**^'  "^  ^^  mother's  arms,  telling  her  to  put  it  to  the  breast. 
She  did  so,  the  child  suckled  for  a  considerable  time,  and 
then  seemed  as  well  as  though  it  had  never  been  sick.'  It  is 
easy  to  conceive  the  amazement  of  the  Indians  at  the  sight 
of  so  prompt  and  so  unexpected  a  cure.  They  stood  long 
as  if  deprived  of  motion,  and  the  missionary  derived  all 
the  fruit  that  he  could  then  expect  from  so  wonderful  an 

■  It  is  somewhat  Btrange  to  find  O'Toole,  p.  128)  attributes  the  cure 
an  Irish  saint  intervening  here,  but  to  relics  of  that  saint.  See  Carayon, 
O'Hanlon   (Life    of    St.    Lawrence    Doc,  Infidita,  ili.,  p.  58. 


i' 
I 


-»!Si 


•MMaa 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE, 


279 


'  I 


^1 


Eleven 
English 
vessels  at 


event.    The  natives  regarded  him  as  a  man  come  down     1613. 
from  heaven,  and  there  was  nothing  that  he  could  not  ^— ~r— 
promise  himself  from  so  favorable  a  disposition,  had  he 
not,  a  few  days  later,  been  unfortunately  compelled  to 
renounce  his  projects  and  his  hopes. 

The  new  colony  at  St.  Savior's  had  not  yet  had  time  to 
assume  a  regulated  form,  when  an  unforeseen  storm  over- 
turned it  to  its  very  foundations.  Eleven  English  vessels  ^""^ 
sailed  from  Virginia,  under  the  command  of  Samuel  Ar- 
gall,  to  fish  near  Mount  Desert  Island.  This  commander 
learned  on  his  way  that  strangers  were  settliiig  at  leu- 
tagoet.  He  had  no  doubt  they  were  French ;  and  al- 
though the  two  crowns  were  at  peace,  he  resolved  to  expel 
them,  relying  on  a  charter  of  James  I.,  king  of  Great 
Britain,  which  permitted  his  subjects  to  settle  up  to  the 
forty-fifth  degree ;'  and  he  thought  that  he  might  profit  by 
the  weakness  of  the  French,  to  treat  them  as  usurpers. 
But  the  historian  of  Virginia  is  evidently  mistaken  when 
he  places  this  enterprise  in  1618,  at  which  time  the  same 
Argall  was  governor  of  Virginia  ;  for  he  is  formally  contra- 
dicted on  this  point  by  all  contemporary  historians  and  by 
incontestable  monuments.' 

This  Captain  ArgaU  had,  it  seems,  only  one  armed  ship,  They  ra- 
te escort  the  fishing  vessels  ;  at  least,  at  St.  Savior's,  "^ofony.* 
they  perceived  only  one  vessel  bearing  down,  under  fuU 
sail,  with  the  EngUsh  flag.  Although  la  Saussaye  was 
ignorant  of  the  intention  of  the  English,  he  considered  it 
his  duty  to  prepare  for  any  event,  remaining  ashore  to 
defend  his  fort,  while  la  Motte  le  Vihn  was  ordered  to 


•  Patents  to  the  London  and  Ply- 
mouth Company  in  1606,  giving 
them  from  34°  to  45°. 

'  Beverly,  History  of  Virginia,  p. 
33,4.  Smith  (Qenerall  Historie,  book 
It.)  would  make  Argall  sent  by  Sir 
Thomas  Dale  in  1614,  after  knowing 
of  the  French  settlement ;  but  this 
may  refer  to  his  return.     Hamor, 


who  left  Virginia  in  1614,  mentions 
it  in  his  True  Discourse,  p.  86.  The 
main  authority  is  Argall  himself. 
See  Letter  to  Nicholas  Hawes,  dated 
June,  1618  (Purchas,  iv.,  1764),  where 
he  says  he  sailed  in  May,  with  one 
ship  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
tone,  carrying  fourteen  guns  and 
sixty  men. 


»; 


280 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  PRANCE. 


1613.  defend  the  ship,  which  was  at  anchor;  but  neither  of 
'-*~i~^'  them  had  cannon,  while  Argall  had  fourteen.  The  latter 
first  attacked  the  iutrenchment ;  and  after  cannonading  it 
for  some  time  at  long  range,  closed  in  and  poured  upon 
it  a  volley  of  musketry,  which  killed  several, — among 
the  rest,  Gilbert  du  Thet,  a  Jesuit  lay-brother,  whose 
valor,  real  or  pretended,  excites  the  spleen  of  John  de 
Laet.' 
vuiany  of  La  Saussaye,  seeing  that  a  longer  resistance  would  not 
captain.* '  save  his  fort,  and  would  entail  the  loss  of  the  rest  of  his 
men,  siu-rendered.  La  Motte  le  Vilin  was  soon  compelled 
to  follow  his  example  ;  but  his  pilot,  Lamets,'  not  deeming 
it  prudent  to  trust  to  the  English,  escaped  to  the  woods, 
with  three  others.  Argall's  first  act,  on  taking  posses- 
sion, was  to  cut  ''.own  the  cross  which  the  mission- 
aries had  erected  in  the  settlement,  in  order  to  assemble 
the  faithful  at  the  hours  of  jjublic  prayer  until  such 
time  as  a  chapel  was  erected.  He  then  searched  la 
Saussaye's  chests,  and  finding  his  commission,  took  it,  un- 
perceived. 

The  next  day,  la  Saussaye  having  gone  to  visit  him, 
Argall  demanded  his  commission.  He  said  that  it  was  in 
his  chest ;  but  on  opening  it  to  find  the  document,  was 
surprised  to  find  it  gone.  Then  Argall,  putting  on  a 
serious  face,  called  him  a  pirate,  saying  that  he  deserved 
death,  and  at  once  gave  up  the  settlement  and  sliip  to 
pOlage.'  This  done,  he  seemed  to  relax,  at  the  solicitation 
of  the  Jesuits,  whom  he  ac  first  treated  very  decently.  He 
even  oifered  the  French  n  bark,  or  a  kind  of  sloop  with  a 


'  Biard  (Relation  do  la  Nouvelle 
France,  p,  47)  Bays  that  du  Thet  fired 
a  cannon.  They  had  therefore  one, 
at  least.  Biard  says,  too,  that  du 
Thet  was  neither  "  peureux  ny  cou- 
ard."  See  De  Laet,  Novus  Orbis,  pp. 
59,  60.  Biard's  letter  of  May  86, 
1614  (Carayon,  Documents,  xii.,  p. 
106),   mentions  Gilbert   du   That's 


death,  but  gives  no  detallb  of  attack. 
Chaniplain,  "Voyages  (ed.  1638),  p. 
106.  Parkman  erroneously  Bupposea 
du  Thet  a  priest.  He  was  merely  a 
lay  brother. 

»  Biard  calls  him  le  Biilleur  (p. 
49). 

'  Biard,  Relation,  p.  48  ;  Cham- 
plaiii,  Voyages  (ed.  1638),  p.  106. 


f 


%^ 


I 


■»■•■■ 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


981 


'I. 


deck,  to  return  to  France ;  but  this  vessel  was  too  small  to     1613. 
hold  aU.  > ' 

He  then  proiiosed  that  those  who  knew   any  trade  what  be- 
Bhould  go  to  Virginia  with  him, — promising  that  they    French. 
should  be  at  full  liberty  to  profess  their  rehgion  there,  and 
have  passage  back  to  France,  if,  after  a  year's  service,  they 
desired  it.     Several  accepted  this  offer  ;  and  the  Sieur  de 
la  Motte  le  ViUn,  for  whom  the  Eughsh  captain  had  con- 
ceived an  esteem  and  friendship,  as  well  as  Father  Biart, 
offered  to  follow  him.     Two  other  Jesuits,  who  had  come 
from  France  with  Mr.  de  la  Saussaye,   embarked  with 
them,  to  proceed  to  an  English  ship  soon  to  sail  for  Eng- 
land.'   In  this  way,  the  bark  was  large  enough  for  thi 
remaining  French  and  their  commander,  with  Father  Ene- 
mond  Masse,  who  would  not  abandon  them." 

One  thing,  their  want  of  a  pilot,  troubled  them ;  but 
the  day  or  day  after  their  departure,  as  they  coasted 
along  in  sight  of  land  to  reach  Port  Eoyal,  they  perceived 
Lamets  on  shore.  They  took  him  aboard,  and  steered  for 
Acadia.  Crossing  the  Bay  of  Fundy  ^^ithout  touching  at 
Port  Koyal,  they  fell  in,  a  little  beyond  port  de  la  Haive, 
with  a  St.  Malo  ship,  which  took  them  all  aboard,  and 
carried  them  safely  to  St.  Malo.'  Those  who  followed 
Captain  Argall  to  Virginia  were  not  as  fortunate.  On 
their  arrival  at  Jamestown,  the  governor-general*  declared 
that  they  must  all  expect  to  be  treated  as  pirates,  and  in 
fact  he  condemned  them  to  death. 

Argall  in  vain  represented  that  he  had  given  his  word 


'  This  is  very  much  confused.  Bi- 
ard  says  that  Argall  agreed  to  take 
them  to  a  neighboring  English  fish- 
ing station,  but  that  he  carried  him, 
with  Father  James  Quentin  and  John 
Dixon,  to  Virginia.  Carayon,  p. 
109.  There  were  but  four  Jesuits — 
Biard,  Masse,  Quentin,  and  Brother 
du  Thet. 

'  Biard,  Relation,  p.  50.     In  his 


letter  of  May  20,  1614,  he  says  four- 
teen went  with  Masse. 

'  They  found  two  vessels  beyond, 
at  Sesembre— one  belonging  to  du 
Pont,  the  other  the  Sauveur,  Captain 
Bullot— each  of  which  took  half  the 
party.  Biard,  p.  51 ;  Champlain,  p. 
108. 

•  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  acting  for  Sir 
Thomas  Gates. 


'f 


^}! 


382 


HISTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1613.  tiiat  they  sbouki  be  well  treated  aud  bo  free ;  tliat  they 
'"^^  "^  '  had  surrendered  to  him  only  on  that  condition  ;  and  that 
Arg«li  it  was  under  the  same  promise  that  they  had  voluntarily 
tmohery,  followed  him  to  Virginia  to  serve  his  Britannic  Majesty's 
livM  of  the  subjects.  The  governor  replied  that  he  had  exceeded  his 
powers,  and  that  as  their  commander  had  no  commission, 
they  could  not  but  be  treated  as  pirates.  Argall,  seeing 
no  way  to  save  them  except  by  avowing  his  treachery  to 
the  Sieur  de  la  Saussaye,  had  the  honesty  to  save  the 
lives  of  so  many  innocent  men  at  the  expense  of  the 
shame  entailed  by  such  a  confession. 
Tuh^if'  ^^®  sight  of  the  commission  which  he  produced  dis- 
port Boyai.  armed  the  governor ;  but  he  at  once  resolved  to  oxpel  the 
French  ftom  all  Acadia,  setting  up  as  a  pretext  the 
patent  of  the  king  of  Groat  Britain.  Argall  was  sent  on 
this  expedition  with  three  ships,  takiog  all  the  French 
whom  he  had  brought  from  St.  Savior's.  On  his  way  he 
learned  tlict  a  French  ship  had  entered  the  River  Pen- 
tagoet,  and  he  prepared  to  engage  it,  but  did  not  find  it. 
He  set  up  the  arms  of  Englaua  at  the  same  place  where 
those  of  Madame  de  Guercheville  had  been.  Then  he 
went  to  Sainte  Croix  Island,  where  he  destroyed  all  that 
remained  of  Mr.  de  Monts'  old  colony.  He  did  the  same 
at  Port  Royal,  where  he  found  no  one,  and  in  two  hours' 
time  the  fire  consumed  all  that  the  French  possessed  in  a 
colony  where  they  had  expended  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand  crowns,  and  labored  many  years,  without  having 
taken  the  precaution  to  put  themselves  in  a  position  to 
resist  a  sudden  attack.'  The  heaviest  loser  was  Mr.de 
Poutrincourt,  who  after  this  gave  up  all  ideas  of  Americd. 
According  to  John  de  Laet  he  returned  to  the  service, 
where  he  had  already  distinguished  himself  by  many  bril- 
liant feats,  and  died  on  a  bed  of  honor.' 

>  Biard,  Relation,  pp.  52-4.     He  >  De   Laet,   Notus  Orbig,  p.    60. 

Bays  nothing  of  the  sliip  in  the  Pe-  He  was  killed  at  M^ry-Bur-Seine  in 

nobBcot,  but  Champlain  alludes  to  it,  1616,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight,  and 

p.  108.  buried  at  St.  Just.    Lescarbot  (ed. 


•I 


r 


• 


ii 


^r 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


283 


/ 


/ 

■  i 


v«ur. 


Argall  having  no  more  to  do  in  Acadia,  sailed  again'  1613. 
for  Jamestown,  keeping  on  board  the  French  whom  he  "— "v-'^ 
had  compelled  to  witness  the  destruction  of  Port  Royal.  ^^J/^^°'** 
They  had  scarcely  weighed  anchor  when  they  perceived  ']j?°2''  •' 
a  Frenchman  on  the  shore.  As  he  made  signs  that  he 
wished  to  speak,  Argall  went  to  the  bulwarks  of  his  suip 
to  hear  him,  and  this  man  told  him  to  distrust  a  Spanish 
Jesuit  named  Biart,  who  would  play  him  some  ugly  trick, 
if  he  was  not  on  his  guard.  Father  Biart  was  of  Gren- 
oble. But  one  of  the  means  then  used  in  France  to  make 
the  Jesuits  odious,  was  to  stigmatize  them  as  secret  parti- 
sans of  the  house  of  Austria.  It  is  notorious  that  it  was  one 
of  the  accusations  brought  against  them  to  prevent  Henry 
lY.  from  restoring  them  in  his  kingdom,  and  all  know  the 
noble  reply  of  that  wise  prince  to  those  who  spoke  to  him 
in  this  way.  Argall  was  surprised  at  the  Frenchman's 
words,  and  the  impression  they  made  on  his  mind  was 
soon  manifest.  He  even  resolved  to  put  the  missionaries 
to  death  on  his  arrival  in  Virginia.  But  Providence  or- 
dered otherwise ;  a  storm,  lasting  three  days  with  great 
violence,  scattered  the  three  English  vessels.  The  smallest, 
a  mere  bark,  carrying  only  three  men,  was  never  heard  of. 
Argall  kept  on  and  arrived  safely  in  Virginia.*  The  third, 
which  carried  the  three  Jesuits,  and  was  commanded  by 
one  Tumell,  was  driven  far  to  northward  and  then  taken 
by  a  furious  southwest  wind,  which  drove  them  wind  astern 
to  the  Azores,  where  they  were  glad  to  find  a  port.' 


1618),  p.  604.  Poutrinoourt,  in  bis 
letter  to  LeBcubot  (ib.,  p.  684),  and 
in  his  Plainte  devant  le  Juge  de 
VAdmirautfi  de  Quyenne  (lb.,  p.  687), 
and  tbe  Briefe  InteUigence  from  Vir- 
ginia by  Letters  (Purchae,  iv.,  1808), 
accuse  Biard  of  contributing  to  tbe 
ruin  of  Port  Royal. 

'  He  left  Port  Royal,  Nov.  9.  Bi- 
ard, Relation,  p.  56. 

<  On  bis  way  he  is  said,  by  Beau- 
champ  Flantagenet'a  New  Albion, 


to  have  visited  Manhattan,  and  com- 
pelled the  Dutch  to  submit  to  tbe 
British  crown.  This  statement  is 
probably  fictitious.  See  Hon.  Q. 
Folsom,  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  serlea 
2,  vol.  i.,  p.  888.  Blard  (Relation,  p. 
66)  says  he  was  about  three  weeks 
going  from  Port  Royal  to  Virginia. 
He  left  Port  Royal,  Nov.  9,  1618. 
Champlain,  p.  109. 

'  Biard,  Relation,  p.  66  ;   Biard, 
Carayon,  Doc.  In^dita,  xii.,  p.  112. 


I 


1 


t 


I 


.s.^ 


284 


HISTORY  OP  NEW  FRANCE. 


1613.  Here  the  Jesuits,  who  had  been  grossly  ill-treated  by 
**"*»'—"'  the  captain,  had  only  to  make  themselves  known  and  say 
dnot'*oMh8  *  ^®^  words,  to  be  avenged ;  and  Turnell,  on  coming  to 

'hfe«  Je»-  anchor,  reluctantly  enough,  in  the  roadstead  of  Fayal, 
seemed  not  to  be  without  uneasiness  on  this  score.  He, 
nevertheless,  had  confidence  enough  in  the  virtue  of  these 
religious,  to  ask  them  to  permit  him  to  keep  them  con- 
cealed when  his  vessel  was  visited,  and  they  consented 

1614.  ynih  good  grace.  The  visit  over,  the  English  captain  had 
liberty  to  buy  nil  that  he  needed,  after  which  he  again 
weighed  anchor,  and  the  rest  of  his  voyage  was  fortunate.' 
But  h«  found  himself  in  a  new  embarrassment  on  arriving 
in  England :  he  had  no  commission,  and  although  he  repre- 
sented that  he  had  accidentally  been  sepai'ated  from  his 
commander,  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  deserter  from  Vii'- 
giuia,  and  put  in  prison,  fi'om  which  he  was  released  only  on 
the  testimony  of  the  Jesuits.'  After  this  time  he  was  un- 
wearied in  publishing  the  virtue  of  the  missionaries,  twice 
his  liberators,  and  especially  the  service  they  had  done 
him  at  Fayal,  where  they  returned  good  for  evil  as  they 
so  generously  did,  foregoing  all  the  advantages  which 
they  might  have  obtained  by  making  themselves  known. 
Nothing,  indeed,  was  omitted  to  compensate  for  them  in 
England,  where  they  were  very  kindly  treated  as  long  as 
they  remained.  At  last  Mr.  de  Biseau,  French  ambas- 
sador at  the  court  of  London,  claimed  them,  and  put  them 
on  their  way  to  Calais." 


'  Biard  in  Carayon,  xii.  p.  118  ; 
BelatioD,  pp.  57,  58. 

*  They  arrived  at  MUford  Havou 
In  1614.  Biard,  Relation,  p.  69.  Tur- 
nel  was  arrested,  because  his  ship 
was  e\ideutly  French.  See  also 
Biard  in  Carayon,  xii.,  p.  114.  Cham- 
plain,  p.  Ill ;  Bressani,  Breve  Belar 
tione,  p.  70. 

•  Biard,  pp.  64-61 ;  Champlain,  pp. 
109-12.  Biard  (Carayon,  p.  115)  says 
that  he  was  nearly  nine  months  a 


prisoner  on  shipboard,  often  on  short 
allowance.  Father  Peter  Biard  was 
a  native  of  Orenoble,  and  esteemed 
a  learned  theologian.  He  reavneU 
France  apparently  in  May,  1614,  and 
died  at  Avignon,  Nov.  17, 1623,  while 
a  chaplain  to  tl  a  army.  Jouvency, 
Historia  Societatia  Jesu  (Rome,  1710), 
p.  324,  where  an  accomit  of  his  labors 
is  given.  His  letter  of  January  81, 
1612,  is  in  the  LitteraB  Annuae,  1612 
(Lyons,  1610),  pp.  503-605. 


niSTORY  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


285 


Meanwhile  great  oxcitomeut  prevailtti  at  the  French 
court  iu  regard  to  the  English  operations  against  St. 
Savior's  and  Port  Royal ;  but  as  at  bottom  this  affair 
eoncernod  only  private  individuals,  the  first  excitement 
soon  subsided.  Mr.  de  Poutrincourt  was  not  sufficiently 
in  favor,  to  flatter  himself  that  his  interests  would  bo 
warmly  espoused,  and  took  no  steps.  Madame  de 
Guercheville  contented  herself  with  sending  la  Saussaye 
to  London,  to  ask  reparation  of  the  injury  done  her  in 
violation  of  the  riglif  of  nations,  and  restitution  of  her 
property ;  but  she  obtained  only  a  part  of  what  she 
claimed,  and  had  to  put  up  with  it.'  She  then  saw,  when 
too  late,  her  error  iu  not  following  the  advice  of  Mr.  de 
Champlain,  who  throws  the  blame  in  part  on  Father  Cot- 
ton, without  whose  advice,  the  marchioness,  it  is  said,  did 
nothing.'  But  although  Champlain  guarantied  the  good 
intentions  of  Mr.  de  Monts,  would  it  have  been  very  safe 
to  confide  to  a  Calvinist  the  direction  of  a  colony,  the 
<!hief  object  of  which  was  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
nations  of  Canada  ? 

In  fact  they  were  all  in  *ault ; — some  from  over  distrust; 
others  from  eagerness  to  get  back  at  once  more  than 
they  advanced ;  some  fi'om  want  of  experience ;  others 
from  not  taking  time  to  study  the  country.  Mr.  de  Monts 
wished  to  derive  from  his  monopoly  certain  and  actual 
funds  to  meet  the  expenses  of  his  colony  :  and  without  a 
monopoly  he  might  have  had  enough  by  trade,  had  he 
begun  by  settling  in  a  secure  place,  where  he  was  within 
reach  of  succor  fi-om  France.  Mr.  de  Poutrincourt  hav- 
ing acquired  the  domain  of  Port  Royal,  had  no  better 
task  than  to  sow  ground  enough  to  secm'e  his  people  from 
being  in  want  of  necessaries ;  and  had  he  been  in  his  fort 


1614. 


i 


'  Biard,  p.  01 ;  Champlain,  Voy- 
ages (ed.  1632),  p.  113.  See  cbrrac- 
teriBtic  proceedings  of  English  Irivy 
CoiincU  (Jan.  2,  23,  1613),  in  N,  Y. 
Colonial  Documents,  ill.,  pp.  1,  8. 


Biard  mentions  that  her  ship,  that 
was  taken  to  England  by  Turnel, 
■was  restored. 

•  Champlain,  Voyages  (ed.  168ajk 
p.  112. 


\ 


-^i 


286 


BIBTOBT  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 


1614.  with  thirty  well-armed  men,  Argall  would  never  have  had 
the  hardihood  to  attack  him.  The  Sieur  de  la  Sanssaye, 
after  taking  poasossion  of  Fort  de  la  Haive,  should  have 
gone  no  further :  he  would  never  have  been  attacked  by 
the  English  there,  for  the  English  intended  only  to  carry 
on  the  fishery  at  Mount  Desert  Island,*  and  were  not  in 
force  to  get  involved  in  Acadia,  where  they  must  have 
supposed  the  French  on  their  guard ;  moreover,  they  did 
not  know  Port  de  la  Haive,  the  entrance  to  which  is  easily 
defended.  Madame  de  Guercheville,  on  Iier  side,  erred  in 
not  intrusting  her  enterprise  to  some  one  already  ac- 
quainted with  the  countiy ;  and  it  is  inconceivable  how  two 
missionaries,  who  had  already  spent  two  years  there,  did 
not  suggest  all  this  to  la  Saussaye,  who  was  disposed,  and 
doubtless  had  orders,  to  follow  their  advice.  What  is 
more  astonishing  is,  that  all  who  in  the  sequel  undertook 
to  settle  in  these  southern  provinces,  failed  by  commit- 
ting precisely  the  same  errors,  and  neglecting  to  prepare 
properly. 


>  The  English  had  already,  to  Bi- 
ud'i  knowledge,  leized  French  ves- 
■eli  near  there  (Biard  in  Carayon, 
Dooomenta  Inidita,  xii.,  p.  6) ;  and 
the  choice  of  the  ipot  for  a  aettle- 
ment  Beenu  mad.    Parkman,  in  his 


recent  work,  ia  not  favorable  to  Bl 
ard  and  hia  colony;  but  Bancroft 
(1.,  p.  140)  doea  not  ipare  hia  censure 
on  Argall,  characterising  hia  con- 
dnct  as  worthy  only  of  marauden 
and  pirates. 


I 


n 


so 


{jj 


DIRECTIONS  TO  THE  BINDER. 


POBTBAIT  or  CHABLBTOIX,  TO  FAOS  TTTIiB. 

Map  of  Nbw  Fbasob P- 100 

PORTBAIT  OF  JaC<}CB8  CABTHm HI 

Map  of  Fbbkoh  Flobida 186 

POBTBAIT  OF  PBDBO  MEHBIIDBZ. 180 

Map  of  Aoaou ^^ 


1 

,4 


